


13 Clans

by LostAndDelirious



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Clarke Griffin - Freeform, Clexa, Clexa Fan Fiction, Clexa Fic, Clexa fan fic, F/F, LostAndDelirious, and get buzzed a lot, and travel a lot for work, but the booze helps, clexa au, lexa woods - Freeform, the l00, they also don't get along all the time, they work for a booze company, together
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-15
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2020-01-13 13:16:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 41,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostAndDelirious/pseuds/LostAndDelirious
Summary: There’s been a business merger with 13 wine and spirit brands coming together. 13 Clans now exists, and Lexa and Clarke need to jump right into things and start working together. Lexa is by the books, Clarke likes to blur the lines. There’s a lot of travel, there’s a lot of team drinks, and there’s definitely about to be something between the two.





	1. I Knew This Was Going To Be An Interesting Situation

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be honest, here. @kay_be has been telling me that this would be a good story for a while now, so thank you to her for making me put some pen to paper! This one is pretty fun for me to tackle, so I hope you enjoy.
> 
> For those of you who are reading "Maple Bourbon Candles" - that will still continue to be regularly updated. :)
> 
> I will also be posting updates on my Tumblr when either of these get updated. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/

To say that the day was busy could have been the understatement of the year - maybe of the century. Construction was finally done and the unveiling of the brand new office building, clad with ‘13 Clans’ in huge black lettering across the front, was finally going underway. The merger was a long time coming and everyone knew it, but when it finally happened, it still took some people by surprise.

Everything was changing. Everything felt so suddenly new. People at the office thrived on change. After all, change meant “progression,” right? What was once known as “Azgeda and Skai” finally transformed into 13 Clans. The merger and acquisition of 11 other companies meant a whole new ball game for this office, for the people that had already worked there, and now the people coming in.

This meant more business, more opportunities, more chances for success. It also meant more challenges, but that was something Lexa always thrived on. She started at Azgeda as an intern fresh out of college, mostly because the whiskey was her drink of choice and she thrived on the idea of working for a company she felt some sort of attachment to. Years had gone by, and now, seven later, she managed to work her way up to be the Portfolio Brand Director of five brands within the newly formed 13 Clans. Her boss Titus had always told her that she was destined for greatness here, that this is where her career would thrive. Her coworkers always told her that she would be the one to take this place to the next level, and now she was truly getting her time to shine.

To be honest, as excited as Lexa was about this opportunity, it also tremendously scared her. Her whole career had been with Azgeda Whiskey and now suddenly she was adding more brands in different categories to her work. Skai Vodka, Trikru Brandy, Sankru Tequila, and Trishana Wines were all now looking to Lexa for guidance on consumer marketing and sales strategies. These brands, including Azgeda Whiskey were seen as the top growth drivers for the company and she was suddenly in control. As much as a go-getter as Lexa was, she was also terrified.

“Hey, boss. What do you think about this open seating plan?” Lincoln said, eyeing Lexa who was staring blankly at rows of empty desks.

Lexa smiled at the man, they’d worked side-by-side for years now on Azgeda. He was the girl’s closest friend at the office, one of the few friendships that left the four walls of the building. With her being the marketing lead and him being the sales lead, it was expected that the two would have to form a close bond to make sure the business was truly thriving.

“First of all,” Lexa started, as she turned around to make eye contact with him, “I’m not your boss. Please stop saying that. Secondly, I’m a creature of habit. You know how badly this is irking me that I don’t have my own space anymore.”

“According to the new org chart, I have a dotted line to you, so…” Lincoln trailed off.

Lexa smirked, “Still not your boss.”

“Whatever you say, Commander.” He smiled and pushed her towards a desk next to one where his things were being settled upon.

“I hate that people call me that.” She huffed as she finally took the seat next to his to settle into for the day. “And I really hate that I don’t have my own space every day. How do they expect us to work like this? We all seriously need to go to our new lockers to get our computer chargers and day-to-day shit every day? This change is madness.”

“This change is progress.” Lincoln mocked the new CEO from his earlier speech at the start of the day. “It’s funny, though. They’re treating us like this is a new tech start up. Open floor plan, no assigned seating, work from home whenever you want without having to get approval. I don’t hate it.”

“Of course you don’t. That means you don’t have to show up for work and you would never get in trouble for it.” Lexa laughed, as she opened her inbox.

She let out a big sigh.

“What’s wrong?” Lincoln asked, it was only 9:15 in the morning - too early to deal with one of Lexa’s work-related bad moods.

“Five brands means five times the emails, it seems.” She replied, scrolling through all her unread emails from just the night prior. “This is going to be an interesting transition period.”

*Ding*

A new email alert pinged throughout the entire office. The first 13 Clans company-wide email had just gone out with the subject line reading: “Happy Hour at the Office Bar to Celebrate 13 Clans.”

“You’d think they would have given more notice for this.” Lexa huffed.

Lincoln smiled and turned to his friend, taking his attention away from his laptop screen, “Lexa, you really thought this company wouldn’t be holding an office-wide happy hour on the day the implementation of the merger finally happened? Come on.” He turned his attention back to the screen, “And it looks like the new events team is running it, I’m sure it’ll be fun. You better come, you’re now the face of the company’s five biggest brands.”

She knew her friend was right, which meant her boss was also likely to put her on the spot to say a few welcoming words to all the new people now working in their office. “Of course I’m coming. But we’re not staying for long, and we’re going out for a proper drink after to celebrate our promotions.”

“There’s the Lexa I love!” Lincoln boasted.

\---

The day went by more quickly than Lexa thought it would. She had back-to-back onboarding meetings with new team members for her brands, she met with her PR team, and in between were nonstop drive-bys at her desk of people singing her praise and congratulating her on the new role and new responsibilities she was given along with it.

Before she knew it, herds of people started making their way up the stairs from their floor to the main lobby which housed one of the biggest office bars anyone could dream of. Seven years ago when she first started, having a fully functioning and fully stocked bar in her place of work was the coolest thing she could have ever dreamed of. Now, even being slightly jaded having actually been with the company for seven years, she was still grateful to have this place and know there would always be a weekly happy hour for its employees.

“The renovation in here is amazing.” Lexa said to Lincoln, looking around at the new design of the space.

“You’re right, boss.” Lexa heard a voice from behind her.

“Indra, the joke’s getting old. I’m not your boss. Or his.” She said, motioning to Lincoln. “Though I do hate the fact that it’s not the three of us on one team anymore.”

“As much as I love you both, I love tequila more. I had to go with the Sankru role when Titus approached me about it, but you know Azgeda will always have my heart.” Indra smiled. “Also, I’m not sure if it’s just the renovation, but I also feel like the theme of this happy hour is much better than they used to be.”

Indra was right. The happy hours were weekly and there was always some elaborate theme, but this week’s was different. Maybe it was the fact that there were so many new faces, maybe it was the fact that the office had been renovated, maybe it was the fact that a new team stepped in to help plan the whole thing.

The three friends made their way to the bar area to see what was on the cocktail list for the afternoon. They all wanted to try some of the new brands they acquired, so they each ordered something different and passed their drinks around to compare. They didn’t realize how long they went on geeking out over the tasting notes and flavor profiles of the liquids in their glasses. They were in their own little world, seated at the bar when they heard Titus finishing up a welcome speech and introducing Lexa to come up to introduce herself.

“Shit.” Lexa mumbled, as she took a swig of her drink, “I knew he was going to do this.”

Lexa put her glass down and stood up with a smile on her face, unbeknownst to everyone in the room that it wasn’t actually a sincere one. She made her way through the crowd to the back where Titus was standing holding a microphone, faces on her that she still hadn’t met yet, some people looking around to see who Lexa Woods was.

She grabbed the mic from Titus and thanked him before addressing the bar full of people around her, “Today is a monumental day, and I am so glad to be sharing it with everyone in this room. I’ve been with this company, now called 13 Clans, for seven years now and I’ve seen many changes along the way. By far, this change has been the most inspiring and motivational one to-date. As 13 Clans, we are now the lead in the industry, bringing the thirteen strongest wine and spirits brands together under one roof. Every person in this room should be proud to be part of this team, and every person in this room has already accounted for the successes of where each brand is today. I’m happy to announce that with the growth driving brands I will be working on, I can already forecast our sales to beat the market by two times, something that has never been done in this industry before. Now, I’d kindly ask you to raise your glasses for the future successes to come. Cheers!”

She gave Titus a smirk as she handed the microphone back to him, a smirk that basically told him how much she hated when he put her on the spot for things like this.

He knew the girl well and replied, “I know you hate speaking to crowds, Lexa, but you sure do it in a fine way. I assumed you would have known I was going to do this.”

“I knew it as soon as the happy hour invite hit my inbox.” She smirked again, this time cheersing the man.

She started to make her way back to her seat at the bar, trying to locate where Lincoln and Indra were. It was more crowded than it was before she got up for her speech, but that was to be expected with the type of celebration they were having. So many people, new faces and old, pulled Lexa aside to tell her she did a great job up there. So many people telling her that they couldn’t wait to see the transformation she was about to make with her new brands. She smiled and thanked them all, but all she really wanted was to reclaim her seat.

When she found her friends, she found that her seat was taken. Lincoln was chatting up a mysterious brunette, and by the look on his face, it seemed he was interested in more than just finding out what her role at the company was.

Lexa cleared her throat as she approached the group, causing Lincoln to look up and the brunette to turn around to face her.

“Commander! Great speech as always. Let me introduce you to Octavia Blake, she’s on the new events team here, she came from Trishana Wines office. She was just telling me how her team actually put this happy hour together, and I was saying how it’s one of the nicest ones we’ve had.” He smiled, bigger than usual.

“Commander?” Octavia asked, holding out her hand to shake Lexa’s.

“Linc, we’ve got to stop that nickname. Too many new people, it’s embarrassing at this point.” she directed her attention at her friend, then smiled and looked to the girl who’s hand she was shaking, “Please call me Lexa, and only that.”

“How about you tell me the story of the nickname, and then I promise I’ll never call you it? Otherwise, I might have to start…” the girl said, smiling at Lexa.

“She’s a feisty one, huh?” Lexa turned to Lincoln, laughing.

“I guess what they say about wine girls is true.” Lincoln shrugged.

Octavia was now looking between the two, “And what is it they say about girls that work in wine?”

“They’ve got all the sass.” Lexa smiled, “Lincoln, feel free to tell her why you feel it necessary to keep this stupid nickname alive. I’m going to get another drink.” Lexa motioned to the other end of the bar where it didn’t look as crowded, “I’ll be back in a minute.”

As Lexa walked away, she saw a very animated Lincoln telling the story to the new girl sitting beside him. She saw the laughter coming from Octavia and couldn’t imagine what the girl would think of Lexa after hearing it all. It was three years into her tenure with Azgeda and Lexa was leading a meeting with their sales distributor for New York right before the holidays. Lexa had visited four liquor stores to buy a bottle of Azgeda before a friend’s holiday party and none of the stores had good visibility of the product. As soon as she walked into each and every store, their number one competitor was showcased with a huge floor space with signage about how that whiskey made for the perfect holiday gift. Lexa ended up ripping into their sales distributor, and may have accidentally threatened to stab him once for each store in his district that didn’t have Azgeda showcased on the floor instead of their competitors.

After that meeting, and after everyone in the room spreading the word of what she had said, the nickname “Commander” stuck. 

Lexa found Indra at the quieter end of the bar as she was ordering her own drink, “Why’d you leave Linc?”

“I wanted to give him space to hit on that girl.” Indra shrugged, taking a sip of her drink.

“He called me ‘Commander’ in front of her and is now telling her why the nickname came about, I’m not sure that’s the rep I need with all these new people, thought.” Lexa sighed.

Indra smiled at her, she knew that it sometimes made her feel self-conscious, but it was indeed something that earned her a lot of trust and respect with some executive members of the team, “With all due respect, a lot of your success has been because of things like that. Own it.”

“You always know what to say.” Lexa smiled back.

Indra chuckled, “I’m only nice because I don’t want you to go Commander-crazy on me next.”

The pair made their way back to where Lincoln and his new friend were seated, each holding two drinks in their hands.

“I know you’re a wine girl, but have you tried the Azgeda 25 Year Old yet?” Lexa asked, handing Octavia the drink, served neat.

“I have not, thank you!” Octavia smiled, “Are we cheersing to the fact that Lincoln just told me the most terrifying story of you?”

“We’re cheersing to new friendships and continued success.” Lexa smirked.

As the group took their drinks in the air for a cheers, they heard a voice approaching them from behind, “Making new friends without me, O?” 

Lexa had her back to whoever was talking, drink still mid air. She turned around to introduce herself, and was pleasantly surprised at what her eyes laid upon.

Before Lexa could open her mouth to say something, Octavia started, “Guys, this is Clarke Griffin. She’s the new events lead for Lexa’s portfolio. She’s also my boss, so feel free to let her know I’ve been fabulous thus far.”

Lexa reached her hand out to the girl, “Lexa Woods.”

“Lovely to finally meet you, Lexa. Clarke Griffin. I’ve heard a lot about you, I’m excited we’ll be working together.”

Lexa nodded, “You came over at the right time. We were just about to make a toast. To new friends and continued success. I would gladly get you a drink if you wanted to join the celebration.”

Clarke smiled, “How could I resist? I’ll have what you’re having.”

Lexa pursed her lips and didn’t break eye contact with Clarke for even a millisecond, “Perfect.” 

\---

“I can’t believe Indra snuck out like that.” Lincoln said to Lexa. The pair now walking towards their normal haunt. 

Lexa chuckled, her cheeks with a slight touch of pink due to the drinks she had consumed, “I find it fascinating that after all this time, you always act surprised when she exits that way. She’s a stealthy one, you should know that by now.”

The man smiled, “You’re right, you’re right. Is An meeting us? I haven’t seen her in a minute.”

“She just texted me that she’s already there and holding down two seats for us.”

Lexa wasn’t close to many people. Of course there was Lincoln and Indra, both friendships formed at work, but had become more than just work friends. Then there was Anya, Lexa’s cousin. The girls both moved to New York right after Lexa graduated from college. With Anya being two years her senior, she always acted as the other girl’s older sister - that’s just how close they were.

Lincoln and Lexa spotted Anya almost immediately when they walked in. The girl nearly jumped to her feet, it had been two weeks since she had last seen Lexa, probably the longest time they’ve spent apart since they moved to the city. “Well, well, well, look who I finally got to meet me out.”

Lexa frowned, “An, you know it’s been busy, I’m sorry.”

“I’m just giving you a hard time, I know you’re been busy practically taking over the company.” Anya rolled her eyes, then turned to Lincoln enveloping the man in an embrace, “And you, sir. It’s been far too long.”

“I was just telling Lexa how much I missed you, it really has been too long. And you’re right, she has been busy trying to take shit over. That doesn’t mean that me, you, and Indra have to wait for her to hang out though.” 

“Enough, both of you.” Though Lexa rolled her eyes as the words came out of her mouth, there was a part of her that was actually glad she could merge the two biggest parts of her life. She knew she didn’t have many people to lean on, but the fact that the few she had actually enjoyed being around each other made it all the better.

The group settled at their normal seats at the bar. Their bartender sent the normal drinks down to them all. It felt like time hadn’t passed and that the last few weeks of finalizing the merger totally consumed all of Lexa’s time.

“Alright, so tell me everything. How was the first day of the big changes? How are all the new people? Does the office remodel look good? Did Titus make you do an impromptu speech again?” 

Lexa smiled and took a sip of her drink, “Good. Fine. Yes. Obviously.”

“A woman of many words.” Anya smirked, then turned to Lincoln, “How about you, Linc? How was the day from your perspective?”

Lincoln smiled, he was definitely still riding the good mood he got during their work happy hour, “It was awesome, the office looks so much cooler. They’ve implemented some awesome changes that I’m definitely going to be benefitting from. Lex as well. Her speech today was actually great, but I guess that comes at no surprise.”

“He is regretfully forgetting to mention that he also has a new work crush.” Lexa slipped in.

The girls didn’t know he was capable of this, but the man actually blushed, “I do not have a crush.”

Lexa couldn’t help but laugh, “Oh, please. The way you were looking at her. Have no fear, friend, she was giving you googly eyes right back.”

“That’s not true.” Lincoln said, sipping his beer, “But if it was, that would mean a certain someone was giving Octavia’s boss a pair of googly eyes.”

Lexa pretended to be taken aback, “Lincoln, throwing me under the bus, I see?”

“Who was Lexa making googly eyes at?!” Anya exclaimed at the same exact moment the bar’s doors opened up.

Lincoln looked over, as the opened door shone a bright light in the extremely dimly lit setting, “Actually, the blonde that’s walking in.”

“Oh, shit. She’s gorgeous.” Anya said, with her mouth slightly agape.

Lexa raised a brow and sighed at the same time, “This is going to be an interesting situation, isn’t it?”

Lexa raised from her barstool and made her way towards the entrance where Clarke, Octavia, and a familiar face from the earlier office happy hour were standing.

“What a pleasant surprise.” Clarke said in Lexa’s direction, snapping the brunette out of her gaze. “I see we didn’t quite make it on the invite list for your little after party, though.” Clarke continued, with her eyes gazing over to where Lincoln and Anya were sitting.

Lexa smiled at the blonde, then turned her attention to the other girl she wasn’t quite familiar with yet, “Lexa Woods. I saw you at the office today, I hope you had an enjoyable time at the happy hour.”

“Sorry, that was rude of me.” Clarke interjected, “Lexa, please meet Raven Reyes. She’s on my team with Octavia. Also another implant from Trishana Wines! Raven handles the engineering behind all the sets we produce for our events and activations. Need anything specific built out, Raven is your girl.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Woods. Heard a lot about you, looking forward to working together.” Raven smiled.

Lexa raised her brow, “Woods? I didn’t realize we were already on a last name basis.”

“It’s kind of my thing.” Raven shrugged, her eyes now wandering to the bar menu.

Lexa turned her attention to Octavia, who was shamelessly sharing in Lincoln’s direction, “I guess I was right. You wine girls have got all the sass.”

Octavia laughed and Clarke looked between the two, slightly confused, “And how did we jump to that conclusion?”

“When you’re in the business long enough, it’s easy to typecast the kind of people that work on certain brands. Wine equals sass.” Lexa said, bearing a smug smile on her face.

Clarke raised her brow, now fully invested in the conversation, “And what would you say about people that work in whiskey, then?”

“Smooth. Just like the product.” Lexa winked, taking a sip from what Clarke assumed to be a higher end expression of Azgeda.

Clarke smirked, “Alright, Commander. I commend you for your wit, I didn’t realize there was more to you than sales scare tactics.”

Lexa feigned insult as soon as the nickname slipped out of Clarke’s mouth, “Ouch. I’ll have you know, though, my bark is worse than my bite.”

With the smirk still plastered on Clarke’s face, she retorted, “Well that doesn’t sound like any fun, then, does it?”

Before Lexa could even respond, Clarke was already walking past her to a booth in the back that Raven and Octavia made their way to, “Are you joining us or are you just going to stare?”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You’re back is to me, I’m not staring.”

“Sure you aren’t.” Clarke shouted back, still not having turned around.

Lexa looked to where Anya and Lincoln were at the bar and made their way back to them. Anya was trying her very hardest to suppress the laugh that was trying to escape her mouth, Lincoln nearly doing the same.

As Lexa put her hand on the back of the barstool she was sitting at, ready to take place back into her seat, Anya put her hand on hers to stop her, “If you think for any reason we’re not joining them, you’re out of your mind. There’s nothing good on TV tonight, this is now officially my entertainment for the evening.”

With a smiling nod, Lincoln eagerly hopped out of his seat, making his way to the booth to grab the open seat next to Octavia, Anya following suit.

“I knew this was going to be an interesting situation.” Lexa mumbled to herself, practically dragging her feet to the booth to sit with everyone else.


	2. The High and Mighty Commander

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading this! It's quite a fun one to write for me. Apologies in advance for any typos, haven't had this proofread by anyone other than myself.

It was 8:45 the next morning and Lexa had already been situated at her desk for an hour. It felt as if the emails just weren’t stopping, it was nearly impossible to catch up to everything because of the constant influx of notes, memos, and presentations she had been receiving. However, she was grateful for the bit of solitude, as her fellow coworkers don’t usually stroll in until a bit after 9.

Not long after, she gave up on trying to catch up and decided she needed another glass of cold brew. It wasn’t that she was hungover from the evening prior, she was just feeling a bit slower than usual. As she got up from her seat and rounded the corner to the kitchen, she heard the sound of heels coming up the hall.

“Who the hell schedules an office happy hour on a Thursday?” the first voice asked.

“I’m pretty sure they’re always on Thursdays, Rae. And they also end kind of early. If you’re hungover, it’s because we stupidly kept drinking afterwards.” the other voice responded.

Lexa filled her glass to the brim with the cold brew on tap, took a sip, and stepped back into the hall, “Feeling a little slow this morning, Reyes?”

Both Raven and Octavia stiffened up. The Lexa they were with the evening prior was more laid back, she had her sleeves rolled up and her hair slung into a ponytail. The Lexa in front of them this morning was poised. Sleeves were cuffed with a perfectly tailored jacket on top, black skinny jeans and perfectly shined shoes.

Octavia stood up straighter than she had been, “Lexa, good morning. How was the rest of your evening?”

“It was great, thank you for asking. Thankfully had some time spared to get some work done.” Lexa smiled at the girl, then turned to Raven, “And the two of you, did have an enjoyable rest of your evening?”

“Enjoyable is definitely a word for it.” Raven sighed, eyeing Lexa’s coffee.

Lexa smiled, “As hungover as you may be, you still got here before mostly everyone else. Kudos to you. Cold brew is on tap in the kitchen, Reyes. Knock yourself out.”

“So, Reyes, huh?” Raven asked, referring to the name Lexa was now calling her.

Lexa shrugged as she started to walk back to her seat, “I thought you said we were on a last name basis?”

When Lexa got back, she saw Lincoln at the seat next to hers.

“Morning, Commander.” he said, beaming a smile on his face.

Lexa looked at him quizzically, “You’re awfully happy this morning, Linc. Any new news?”

He swiveled his chair around to face the girl, “I may or may not have gotten a phone number. It may or may not be work-related, but I’ll take what I can get.”

Lexa let out a smirk and laughed, “You’re hopeless.”

At that moment, the pair heard a pair of heels clicking towards them from the front of the elevator bank and they were greeted by Clarke rounding the corner.

As Clarke walked past Lexa and Lincoln to where Octavia and Raven were settling in, she gave the brunette a grin that was somewhere between snarky and seductive.

Lincoln noticed the look on Lexa’s face, “Who’s the hopeless one now?”

\---

“Lexa, you ready for this meeting? We have the bigger board room for it. Some folks will be dialing into it as well.” Lincoln asked, standing up to head towards the conference room.

Lexa was still fervorously typing away at her computer, adding two more slides to what her friend thought was the final and complete presentation. She didn’t acknowledge his question.

“Hey,” Lincoln addressed her again, “I thought that was done. What are you adding?”

Lexa hit the save button and started to get up to make her way to meeting, “More of those good ideas that I have and everyone else loves.”

He shook his head at his friend, “Cocky.”

Lexa stopped and smiled at him with her brow raised, “Confident.”

The pair made their way down the hall to make their way into meeting room. There were nearly 20 people in there, probably 10 or so on the phone as well. This was the first of the bigger meetings that Lexa would have to endure coming from this merger, and she wasn’t necessarily looking forward to them. One for each of her five brands, all key stakeholders involved. She scanned the room, looking at old faces and new, and was pleasantly surprised to see Clarke towards the back of the huge wooden table.

Lexa made her way to the girl and took a seat next to her, “Good to see you in here.”

Clarke laughed, “Apparently they’re letting me play with the big dogs. To what pleasure do I owe the Commander sitting next to me, though? Shouldn’t you be at the head of the table here?”

Lexa grinned, “It doesn’t matter where I sit, I can still get their attention.”

The meeting felt like it was lasting forever. People were showcasing reporting on sales trends, which markets were doing better than others, where they needed to focus marketing efforts on, what other brands they should be partnering with to make sure they were getting the best visibility. Lexa had interjected during almost every report presented on the screen. Clarke was actually quite impressed; Lexa was asking smart questions - the right questions. Lexa was adding her value and no one took her commentary for granted. Every time she spoke, almost everyone in the room jotted down notes.

Lincoln had just finished showcasing a sales forecasting report for Azgeda, answering every question that Lexa fired his way with ease, when Clarked leaned over and whispered, “Wow, I thought you guys were friends?”

Lexa turned to her, “We are.”

“You don’t think you were a little tough on him?” Clarke raised a brow.

Lexa smirked, “Clarke, if I don’t compartmentalize between my work life and my personal life, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It’s hard to be successful at either when you potentially have one weighing down the other”

“Ah, right. The high and mighty Commander.” Clarked grinned, paired with an eye roll.

Lexa’s smirk was still plastered on her face. She paired it with a shrug, “What can I say?”

Clarke was about to respond to Lexa when she heard her name being called from the front of the room.

“Ms. Griffin, are you ready?” Titus asked again.

Clarke took a look at Lexa and cleared her throat, “Coming right up, sir.”

\---

She was halfway through her proposed event and activation strategy for the year. The presentation was taking twice as long as she had hoped, mostly due to Lexa’s constant interjections.

“The proposed budget-” Clarke was cut off, yet again.

“I’m going to have to stop you right there, Clarke.” Lexa said, now standing up, commanding the attention from Clarke to herself, “Though the budget is for your team to manage and execute, there will be no approvals on anything until we feel you have a proper understanding of the actual brand plans for the year. The slide looks great, but it’s not in line with our key programming and messaging for the time period. There’s no way this will be signed off on.”

Clarke clenched her jaw, “Thank you for the feedback, Lexa. Perhaps your team can find the time to actually share the key programming calendar with the other cross-functional teams so that we won’t have to guess what’s going on then?”

“With all due respect, Clarke,” Lexa finally sat back down, “the calendars are all in the shared drive and are accessible to view. My team is here to answer any questions, but asking us to take hours out of our day to read a few slides to everyone seems a bit inefficient, don’t you think?”

“Perhaps you’re right.” Clarke replied, trying to compose herself, remembering the amount of people in the room and on the phone, “I’ll connect with you to take this conversation offline. I’m glad we got the dialogue going, though.”

Lexa was no longer looking at Clarke, her attention was drawn to the phone in her hand. She seemed to be scrolling through something, “Sure thing, my calendar is up-to-date.”

Clarke quickly finished up her portion of the meeting, glad that Lexa was distracted and didn’t have a chance to interrupt again. She unplugged her laptop from presentation mode and made her way back to her seat, Lexa was still mindlessly scrolling through something, not acknowledging her even sitting back down. Clarke rolled her eyes and faced straight to the front of the room for the rest of the meeting, trying her hardest not to peek over at Lexa to give her any time of day.

When the meeting was over, Lexa was the first to leave and Clarke quickly got up to follow her.

“Good job up there, Griffin.” Lexa said, nodding at Clarke.

Clarke’s mouth was agape, “Are you fucking kidding me, Lexa? You made an ass out of me up there. What the hell was that about?”

“Clarke,” Lexa started, “I’m sorry, but I don’t agree with the program you presented because it does not ladder back into our key programming. I was simply stating that if you had read the materials, you would have known that.”

“You have no tact.” Clarke huffed, as she stormed past Lexa.

Lexa rolled her eyes. She was used to this, and she knew Clarke would get used to it also.

“Got her first taste of the Commander today, huh?” Lincoln laughed, nodding his head towards Clarke who was already halfway across the office.

“There’s always going to be a first time, I suppose.” Lexa shrugged, as the two walked back towards their desks.

\---

“I don’t have time for this.” Lexa said quietly to herself, rubbing her temple and staring at her laptop screen.

Lincoln turned over to his friend, “Time for what?”

“Did you see the email Titus just sent us?” Lexa replied, already thinking of excuses to not partake in the offer.

“Uh, this looks awesome, what’s the issue?” Lincoln asked, now getting excited at the email before him, scrolling through the list of names in CC to see who else was on the thread.

Lexa shook her head, “4 nights is a long time to be away, that’s all. If I dedicate 5 days to this trip for one brand, that means I’m neglecting all the others.”

“Relax, Lex.” Lincoln smiled at the girl, “When’s the last time we did a team trip anyway? And we really know nothing about Trishana Wines yet. Would be great to see the process from distillation to bottling, don’t you think?”

“You’re just excited because Octavia’s on the invite list.” Lexa smirked.

“I mean, that too.” The man laughed as he shrugged, “Hey,” he continued, “Anya texted me to see if I wanted to grab a drink because she had a meeting in the area. She mentioned that she texted you but hadn’t heard back. Want to go for a quick one in a few?”

Lexa sighed, she knew she had to be better about her phone. Her mind wandered back to what she said to Clarke earlier. She needed to compartmentalize so that one aspect of her life wouldn’t be able to negatively affect another. She immediately grabbed her phone to apologize to her cousin and take her up on her offer for drinks.

After much urging, Lexa and Lincoln convinced Indra to also come out to see Anya; they hadn’t seen each other in months and Indra knew it was long overdue.

They made their way to their spot, it was truly the best bar around the office, likely because of their selection of booze and lack of people from work actually knowing it existed.

“Two days in a row. How lucky am I?” Anya asked, leaping out of her seat to give Lexa a big hug, “I’m happy you answered, even it was Lincoln that made you.”

“I didn’t make her do anything. The Commander listens to no one.” Lincoln laughed, now his turn to hug the girl that had been waiting for them.

Anya nearly yelped when she saw Indra. She wasn’t as close to her as she was to Lincoln, just based off how much more often Lincoln made these appearances versus Indra, but she loved the woman so much. Anya knew that Indra was always taking care of Lexa at work. Whenever Lexa doubted anything, she knew Indra was the woman she went to, one of the only people in that office that Lexa could truly open up to, and Anya was just thankful that her younger cousin had that kind of person in her life, especially with how much time she spent on her work.

Indra laughed at Lincoln’s nickname drop, as Anya let go of their embrace, “I heard Lexa got Commander-crazy in a meeting today.”

Anya rolled her eyes, “When does she not go Commander-crazy in meetings? I feel like this is all you guys talk about,” she turned her attention to her cousin, “can you please learn how to be a decent human being so that you can make more friends?”

Lexa scoffed, “I have friends.”

Anya rolled her eyes, as she made her way to get the bartender’s attention, “Yeah, they’re all right here already. Stop being rude to people.”

The group opted for a booth this time around, it was much easier with four people that way. Over the first drink, Lincoln boasted with excitement at the Trishana Wines trip while Lexa complained about it. Over the second, Lincoln was telling the group how he’s been flirty texting with Octavia while Lexa rolled her eyes about it.

When they were nearly finished with their second drink, Lincoln was devilishly grinning at his phone.

“What’d she say now?” Lexa asked, wondering what had the man so riled up.

He kept his grin, but tried to compose himself, “That she’s on her way here from the office so I could buy her a drink.”

“That’s forward.” Indra stated, “But you seem into it, so do you.”

“She was actually really funny yesterday. I liked her.” Anya smiled at Lincoln.

He nodded, “Yeah, she’s cool peeps. We’ll see if anything comes of it, though.”

As expected, Indra made her second stealth exit of the week, sliding out from the booth and quickly saying she had somewhere to be. The three remaining sat there and continued to go on about their day, Lincoln mimicking the moment when Lexa struck a nerve with Clarke.

“I could have sworn you had some sort of crush on her after drinks yesterday.” Anya said with slight confusion on her face.

Lexa rolled her eyes as she took a sip of her beer, “Acknowledging the fact that someone is an attractive individual and having a crush on someone are two separate things, An.”

Anya raised a brow at her cousin, “If my memory serves me correctly, you two were awfully flirty last night. And now I hear you’re picking on her in meetings? Sounds like a crush to me.”

Lexa flicked a rogue piece of torn up napkin on the table towards Anya, “She has a flirty personality. And I pick on everyone in meetings. Sounds like me just being myself and you being an instigator.”

Anya dodged the piece of napkin that was flung her way, “You sound whiny when you know I’m right.”

Lexa wrinkled her nose, “I am not whiny.”

“You may not be whiny, but you’re definitely something.” Clarke appeared behind the group, next to Octavia. “O, you didn’t tell me she was here.”

“Glad to hear you’re excited to see me, Griffin.” Lexa smirked at the girl, knowing all well she was still upset about the meeting earlier.

Clarke shot Lexa a bout of side eye, “‘Excited’ isn’t quite the word I was looking for, Lexa.”

Lincoln awkwardly got out of the booth, trying to make his way to Octavia to lead her to the bar and away from the verbal scuffle happening in front of them, “Sooo, how about I get you that drink?”

Octavia instinctively looked at Clarke to see if she was okay to leave her for a few minutes, to which Clarke softened her expression and nodded at the girl.

“Anya,” Clarke said, as she went to sit next to her, “I’m sitting next to you because your cousin is my least favorite person at the moment. And you,” she continued, shifting her attention to Lexa,” you should probably waltz yourself to the bar and get us a round of drinks. If the bartender takes a while, maybe it’ll give you some time to think up an apology for talking down to me the way you did.”

Lexa gave the girl a look, “I don’t apologize. But would you like beer or wine?”

Anya just sat there, eyes flickering between the girl next to her and her cousin sitting across her. As much as she loved her cousin, she couldn’t help but think of how glad she was that she was witnessing Lexa’s own mini drama series instead of sitting at home trying to find something to watch on Netflix.

Clarke scoffed, “Since you’re buying, I’ll take an Azgeda 18 neat.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and turned to her cousin, “And you, An? Same as last round?”

“I mean, shit. I’ll have what she’s having too.” Anna laughed, clearly amused at the interaction in front of her.

Lexa’s mouth was slightly agape. She shook her head at her cousin before shuffling over to the bar, mumbling something to herself that neither Clarke nor Anya could decipher.

“You’ve known Lexa for what, two work days now? Already putting the Commander in her place?” Anya laughed, nudging Clarke.

Clarke sighed, eyes still on Lexa, “Retaliation for her acting like a jerk in a meeting today. She’s a tough one.”

Anya nodded, “I’ve heard stories from Linc and Indra about her. She is a tough one, but it seems like you’ll be just fine holding your own.”

Clarke smiled at the girl as Lincoln and Octavia both reappeared, looking a little closer than they did when they went off to the bar together. They scooted in across from her and Anya.

“Where’s Commander Crazy Pants?” Octavia asked, then looking at Anya, “Whoops, sorry. Forgot you’re related.”

Anya laughed, “I am not accountable for my cousin’s behavior. Just an innocent bystander here.” She threw her hands in the air, “Just call me Switzerland.”

Lexa made her way back to the table, carefully balancing the three glasses of whiskey. She rolled her eyes, seeing that Lincoln and Octavia took her seat, and slipped in next to Clarke.

“Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t realize we were having a fancy night.” Octavia said, looking at the glasses.

“The Commander over here was buying, so I’m just trying to clean her wallet out.” Clarke shrugged, taking the drinks for her and Anya from Lexa without even acknowledging her.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You’re welcome.”

Anya smirked at the interaction, “Lex, quit it with the eye rolls. Your face is going to get stuck that way if you keep doing that.”

“Shut up, An.” Lexa huffed, taking a sip of her whiskey.

Clarke finally turned to the girl on her other side, “What? No motivational speech or toast from the almighty Commander today?”

“To new friends,” Lexa said, raising her glass and deliberately looking at Octavia, “and to overcoming new challenges.” she finished, eyes now staring right into Clarke’s.

The pair didn’t break the eye contact, neither one of them wanting to back down.

“So,” Lincoln cleared his throat, finally breaking the silence, “I saw we were all on the invite for the Trishana Winery trip coming up. I’m excited, I’ve never been on a wine trip like this.”

Octavia smiled proudly, “Clarke, Raven, and I are all planning the trip. It’s going to be amazing. We’ve obviously been out there a bunch, it’s one of my favorite places.”

Lexa looked to Octavia, “Can’t wait to see what you ladies have up your sleeves for this one.”

Clarke, still looking at Lexa, “Commander, would you like to see our budgets for this one? I know how much you love collaboration during the strategic phases of planning.” She was clearly trying to make a dig, trying to get her back from the meeting earlier in the day.

Lexa smiled smugly, eyes locking with the girl again, “This is your forte, Clarke. I’m just along for the ride.”

Clarke returned the smug smile, “The almighty Commander backs down.”

With pursed lips and a lower voice, only for Clarke to hear, Lexa leaned in closer to the girl’s ear, “Clarke. Sometimes you have to concede a battle to win a war.”


	3. What The Hell Was That?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a bit short but I did want to get an update here.
> 
> Just for your guys' awareness, I have another fic in the works (Maple Bourbon Candles) and am alternating updates between this one and that. I actually love that I'm writing both of them at the same time because the dynamics are so different and they're both actually helping to inspire each other. :)
> 
> Maple Bourbon Candles: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18319310/chapters/43364297
> 
> As usual, please accept my apologies for any typos you may find. I haven'y had anyone proofread this this!
> 
> PS - thank you so much for reading, for all the comments, and all the kudos. Makes this even more fun to work with. :)

The weeks had gone by and Clarke had found herself settling into a new routine. Wake up in the morning, head to the office as early as possible, learn how to tactfully hold her own in front of colleagues whenever the Commander made an appearance in her meetings, get dragged to the bar down the street by Octavia a few times during the week, and flirt with Lexa over drinks to get under the girl’s skin.

“Slide over, Commander.” Clarke whispered into Lexa’s ear. The brunette hadn’t realized that Clarke, Octavia, and Raven had made their way to the booth they had all grown accustomed to. With the addition of the three now joining their evening ritual, the group had to claim a new area of the establishment, the bartop and stools didn’t provide the optimal environment for a friendly chat for a group of six.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You know I hate sitting in the middle.” She was trying to scoot out to allow Clarke to be towards the inside, to be situated between Anya and Lexa, before Clarke stopped her.

“And you know I hate it when you interrupt me in meetings, so I guess we all can’t get what we want.” Clarke quipped back, not allowing Lexa to exit and taking the seat near the outside of the booth.

Anya smirked at her cousin, “Looks like someone’s been putting you in your place, little cousin.” Her eyes now looking between Lexa and Clarke, Clarke who was now putting a drink order with the bartender who was visiting their table.

Clarke was finishing explaining the cocktail she wanted and then turned to Lexa before looking back at Roan, the man taking their order, “And she’ll have the Sankru Reposado with a splash of club and lime, please.”

Lexa turned to the girl with an amused look on her face, “What if that’s not what I wanted?”

Clarke shrugged, “Luckily for you, I know that it was.”

From across the table, Raven looked between the two and then to Anya, who wore the same expression on her face. The banter, which was borderline flirting, had been becoming more excessive with every happy hour at the office and every outing to the bar. “It’s like whenever you both are liquored up, you like each other. When you’re not you can’t stand each other.”

Lexa had a smug grin plastered on her face, “I can’t help that your boss here needs liquid courage around me.”

Clarke, who was used to these comments from Lexa by now, shot the brunette a look, “Woods, you’d only be so lucky to be getting that kind of attention from me.”

With the smug grin still plastered on her face, but now making direct eye contact with Clarke, “Whatever you say, princess.” The nickname was one that Lexa started using for Clarke a few weeks prior. The blonde wasn’t stuck up or catty in any way, if anything, Lexa had learned that Clarke was actually a humble, down-to-earth, and intelligent person; it was more so regarding how she carried herself. Always well-manicured, a strand of hair never out of place, a different dress every day and heels that always complemented whatever handbag the girl was trotting around.

Anya decided to chime in and steer the conversation, “I can’t believe you guys are leaving me next week. What form of entertainment will I have to succumb to if I can’t sit here and watch these two go back and forth with each other all night?”

Lexa turned to her cousin, “I already told you that you should come. Use your miles for the flight and you can stay in my room. Word on the street is that I have a big, fancy suite with my name on it.” She threw a smile in Clarke’s direction, well-knowing that she was the one handling the bookings and arrangements.

“I can’t just ditch work for a week to get liquored up on your work trip. But I appreciate it. Guess that means my productivity levels will be through the roof while you’re all gone.” She shrugged as she motioned to Lexa and Clarke to move out of the booth, “Ladies’ Room.”

The two moved out of the way and Clarke motioned for Lexa to re-enter, “Get your scrawny ass back in there, Woods.”

For a third eye roll of the night from the girl, Lexa huffed, “Why must you always feel the need to trap me, Clarke?”

“I could think of a reason.” Raven said under her breath, loud enough to earn a chuckle from Lincoln and Octavia who were seated on her side of the table.

\---

A few drinks later and Lexa finally felt the tequila she was drinking heat up her cheeks. That’s when she knew to cut herself off. It was already getting late and she knew she had an early morning. She also knew that it was around this time, every time, that when the sensation flushed her face, she started to think about Clarke in a different light, and she knew that she couldn’t allow herself to do that.

She said her goodbyes and was already out the door and halfway down the block towards the direction she wanted to find a cab in when she heard her name being called from up the street. Her eyes looked up and saw Clarke, marching her heels in her direction.

“Yes, princess?” Lexa asked, her face clad with a lopsided smile that unknowingly sent flutters through Clarke.

When Clarke finally caught up to the girl who was standing to the side of the sidewalk waiting for her, she raised a brow, “Night cap?”

Lexa laughed, “We have an 8:30am tomorrow, Clarke. Sure that’s a wise thing to do?

“I actually had some notes I wanted to run over with you. Night cap can consist of coffee or tea or… “ her voice trailed as she saw Lexa’s demeanor change every so slightly at the mention of something work-related, “more tequila?”

She earned a sigh from Lexa, “Fine. But if they’re still in there,” she motioned to the bar that both of them had just existed, “it won’t be too conducive for a productive conversation. Where shall we go?”

“My place is a few blocks this way.” Clarke suggested.

With a nod, Lexa motioned for Clarke to lead the way and she closely followed suit. 

\---

The pair were hovered over Clarke’s coffee table, looking over print outs of a few plans the blonde and her team had rendered for a Skai sponsorship event. Lexa sat there, chin resting in her hand, “This is brilliant, Clarke. This is it, I’ve never seen anything like this before in our industry. Raven can actually have that prop built and working?”

It was the first genuine compliment Clarke had received from Lexa, she couldn’t help but smile, “She can, and she has. We tested it yesterday and it works, just need a little finessing but the VR commands work in English and Spanish, just like we need it to.”

Lexa nodded, “I’m impressed. Voice-activated robot to assemble the exact cocktail you want. The rest of our markets are going to flip when they find out Texas is getting their hands on this first, you know.” Her eyes were still glancing at all the papers in front of her: renders of the project, budget proposals, timelines for the launch.

“You know,” Clarke started, taking a seat back and leaning deeper into her couch, “I didn’t know you were capable of compliments, Commander.”

“I give them out when they’re deserved.” Lexa smiled to herself, still going through the documents.

“Or when you’ve been liquored up.” Clarke laughed.

“Ah,” Lexa said, finally turning around to look at the blonde, “is that why you kept ordering me drinks? Luckily for you, I’m pretty sober now. The compliment was genuine.”

Clarke raised a brow, “Sober? Nothing a glass of wine can’t fix. I have a limited run Trishana Cab if you’re interested?”

Lexa didn’t realize it, but she was smiling at Clarke, “Only one, then I need to go.”

“Only one.” Clarke repeated, grabbing a beautiful decanter from her bar cart and two glasses before heading back to where Lexa was sitting. She poured a little heavier than she would have if she was alone and turned her attention to Lexa, “Do you have a toast for this, Commander?”

The lopsided grin Lexa shared with her earlier had re-planted itself across her face. She raised her glass and Clarke followed suit, “To the unexpected.”

\---

Lexa strolled into the office a bit earlier than usual, but perhaps that’s what happens when your boss puts an 8:30am meeting on your calendar. She was pleasantly surprised to see Lincoln already at a desk with his belongings strewn about, “Early start today?” she asked, taking the seat next to her friend.

He looked up and smiled, “Couldn’t sleep, figured I’d come in and format some of the slides you shared on the server for the meeting. You’re a smart one, Lex, but your formatting skills could use some work.”

That was the kind of friend Lincoln was. He didn’t necessarily have a hand in the presentation, but he was still looking out for Lexa, “What can I say? They hired me because I’m the brains, not the beauty.”

“Who said you couldn’t be both?” 

Lexa whipped her head around, “Why do you always make it a point to sneak up on me?”

Clarked replied to her with a shrug, “You’d think these bad boys, “she said, pointing to her heels, “would be warning enough, Commander.” She smiled and looked at Lexa, “No hangover today?”

“I don’t get hangovers.” Lexa mumbled, bringing her attention back to her computer screen.

Lincoln chuckled at the two, happy to see the banter that existed outside the office actually happening at work, “Lexa is a liar. She gets hangovers, but only when she mixes, which is why when she has a drink she sticks to that all night.”

Lexa turned her attention from her monitor for a split second to shoot Lincoln some side eye.

Clarke smirked, still watching the brunette, “Ah, I see. I suppose the wine you had after the tequila didn’t give you the effect you normally get when mixing, then?”

Lexa finally faced Clarke and the expression she wore was far from happy, for whatever reason, she didn’t want to mention to her friend that she had gone for one more at Clarke’s, even though it was strictly work-related, “I suppose not, Clarke.” She then turned to her friend, “Clarke caught me as I left and asked me to review notes for the meeting this morning that she had back at her apartment.”

Lincoln looked back at his friend with a raised brow before returning to finishing the formatting on her slides while Clarke took the seat directly behind Lexa’s.

“Do you really have to sit there?” Lexa mumbled, just loud enough for Clarke to hear her.

Just as Lexa was about to answer, she was interrupted by Titus walking by. He looked between the two girls and smiled - it went unsaid that after the first meeting when things got heated between the two, people in the office started to think some sort of rivalry was taking place. Though later meetings never reached the point of the first, it was clear to many people that there was some tension. He approached the group, “I’m glad to see everyone working so close together in this collaborative place.”

Lexa failed to look up at him, “Ensuring we’re set for the 8:30, Titus.” She was clicking things on her computer and typing away, he could tell she wasn’t in the mood for morning small talk.

“Very well,” he said, now smiling at Clarke, “And you, Ms. Griffin? Feel like you’re prepared?”

Clarke returned the smile to the older man, “Yes, sir. I ran through some plans with Lexa yesterday and feel like my team is in a good place in terms of activating against Skai Vodka’s key programming. I have a feeling you, along with Marcus Kane, will be happy with what we share with you shortly.”

He nodded before walking off, “That’s great to hear. I expect nothing less. When working with Lexa, I know we’ll get nothing short of what we asked for.”

Lexa focused her attention back to her computer and saw a small notification pop up at the bottom of her screen, alerting her she had a new message from Lincoln, who happened to still be sitting right next to her. She looked at the man who was watching her, waiting for her to read his message, when she looked back to her computer and opened it.

Lincoln: So, her apartment, huh? Was her bedroom nice?

After reading it, Lexa closed to chat screen and gave her friend a sour look before finishing what she was working on and heading towards the meeting room.

\---

The meeting was almost over, and Marcus Cane, the CEO of 13 Clans, was nodding his head in alignment with something Lexa was saying. Once Lexa finished making her point, to which he had agreed with, he turned to Clarke, “I’m feeling confident in most of these plans, but the one thing that’s causing me to have a dilemma is the experiential activation you shared with us, Miss Griffin.”

Lexa looked to Clarke and saw that the girl was trying to find the words in her head to relay back to her new CEO, “If I may,” Lexa started, waiting for Clarke to give her the okay to take the reins. Once Clarke nodded, Lexa continued, “The proposal Clarke and her team put together are extremely well-thought through, Kane,” she called the man by his last name, something Lexa had a habit of doing when she wanted to make sure she felt powerful during a meeting with any executive, “I reviewed the plans with her yesterday, saw the mock-ups, saw the timeline and budgeting and it all falls within the scope of what I personally briefed to Clarke, Octavia and Raven. If you take a step back and look at the plan, yes it is extremely tactical, but again, that is what I asked for. Skai vodka is activating at one of Texas’ biggest music festivals alongside thousands of other brands. The vodka category in itself is plummeting and we needed to figure out how to break through to the consumer while we have them within the festival grounds. If you’re sitting here trying to tell me, tell Clarke, that this idea is not innovative, will not create any sort of awareness or consumer engagement, will not pick up press from the media, and will not drive brand saliency during the programming period, then I think there is a bigger issue at hand.”

Clarke’s eyes were nearly bugged out of her head, while for the first time in a long time, Titus had a look of concern on his face.

Marcus looked at Lexa and was about to address her, when she stopped him to continue, “With all due respect, Marcus, 13 Clans brought in the best talent from our industry to make sure each brand remains #1 in their respective categories. Don’t revert back to our old strategies because they depart from what we’re comfortable with. This idea will work.”

Marcus sat there and nodded at Lexa, “Very well, then. You’ve proven your point, Lexa. Clarke, you may proceed with the plans. Please report back to me as soon as we go live.”

Clarke returned the man’s nod, “Yes, sir. We’ll be doing a market visit to the Trishana Winery next Monday and I’m flying straight to Texas after. I’ll be there on the ground with Raven and will be sure to share optimizations as we go.”

With that, Marcus Cane stood up and excused himself from the room.

Titus whipped his head around to Lexa, “What the hell was that?”

Lexa shrugged as she picked up her belongings, also ready to exit the room, “What was what, Titus? I was defending a plan that I feel confident will work, that’s all that was. Is there a problem?”

He sighed, “No problem, Lexa.”

She was halfway out the door when Clarke called out, “Thank you.” Lexa stopped and halfway turned to face Clarke and nodded in her direction before fully walking out the door.


	4. To a Week We'll Never Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for reading. Truly grateful to each and every one of you for following this story of mine. Knowing you're enjoying it makes it all so worthwhile for me.
> 
> Loving all the feedback and taking much of it into consideration. I loosely have this story in mind, so if there are some things you'd like to see happening, give me a shout here or ask on my Tumblr (https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/)
> 
> -L
> 
> PS - Apologies for any typos!

Lexa couldn’t contain her grumbles in. For someone who was a creature of habit with a normal morning routine, both for weekdays and weekends, she wasn’t pleased with the fact that she was pushing her way through New York’s busiest airport on a Monday morning at 6:30. At this hour, she should be midway through her morning run, thinking about the flat white she was going to savor when she got home. It didn’t help that the travel for the trip she was embarking on was booked by someone else; that meant an airport she didn’t favor and an airline where she wasn’t accumulating any miles.

“Perk up, Commander. We’re about to go have ourselves some fun.” Lincoln nudged her, rolling his luggage in tow behind him.

Lexa scoffed at her friend, very unamused with their whereabouts, “You’re treating this like it’s a vacation, Linc. Not all of us have a pseudo-girlfriend that will be on the same trip.”

The man laughed and raised a brow, “Is that right? Because the last time I checked, you and Griffin are at either each others’ throats or checking each other out. If that doesn’t sound like two people in a relationship, I don’t know what does.”

Lexa stopped in her tracks and gave her friend the dirtiest of looks before looking at the line accumulating in front of the Starbucks at their terminal, “I can’t believe I have to wait in this stupid line for this stupid coffee that isn’t even good.”

“Snob.”

She felt a vibration in her back pocket, unsure if it was her work phone or her personal phone - most people at 13 Clans opted to get rid of their personal lines since their company issued phones on the company dime, but Lexa being Lexa always tried to keep things compartmentalized. It didn’t matter that Anya was practically the only person who reached her on the former.

She fumbled between the two before realizing it was the company phone, which nine times out of ten was the case.

_CG: At the gate already. Snagged your normal coffee order. If you grabbed one already, then I guess that means two for me._

Lincoln, never a coffee-drinker, but always a great friend, was making his way to the line ahead of them, sighing because it mirrored one of a ride at Disney World, when Lexa called after him, “Nevermind, Clarke has one for me at the gate.”

He laughed as he walked back towards her, “And you don’t think that you guys are in a relationship? That’s cute.”

His assessment of Lexa and Clarke wasn’t wrong, per say. It’s true that after Lexa stood up for the girl the week prior to Marcus Cane, Clarke had softened a bit with her bouts of anger that she normally hurdled at the brunette. It wasn’t that they were non-existent, they were just more far and few between, as were appearances from the Commander whenever Lexa and Clarke were in meetings together.

The pair found themselves nearing Gate C52 when they spotted a few others that were joining them on the trip. Clarke, Octavia, and Raven were huddled around a bench, chit chatting, seeming like they had been up for hours and were fully ready for the day. Titus, a few seats down from them looked half asleep, as did Murphy and Jasper, the latter two joining from the finance team.

Lexa wheeled her bag up to where Clarke and her team were, Lincoln stopping right next to her, “I hear there’s a flat white with my name on it?”

“Order up.” Clarke smiled, handing the other girl her coffee and earning an inquisitive look from Raven.

“Wow, special delivery this morning, boss? You didn’t even ask me what I wanted.” Raven smirked, arms across her chest.

Lexa pushed back the sunglasses from her face to the top of her head, pushing back her wild brown mane before taking a sip and looking at Raven, “Butt hurt, Reyes? Griffin over here didn’t even ask, she just knew,” she then turned her attention to the blonde, “Not perfect, but it’ll do. Thank you.”

Clarke rolled her eyes at Lexa’s remarks, “Well thanks for blowing up my spot. I’m going to go talk to the people at the desk about my upgrade before Raven chews my head off.”

Lincoln instinctively took the seat open near Octavia, who was more than happy to greet the man. The pair hadn’t crossed the lines of “office fraternization” just yet, but it was only a matter of time until one of them truly caved.

Lexa took the seat Clarke had previously been situated in when Raven turned around to her, “How’s the coffee, Commander?”

Lexa smirked, “You know, Reyes. You can’t call me that. One needs to earn that right of passage.”

“It’s really a toss up.” Raven replied.

“What is?” Octavia asked, moving her attention away from Lincoln to the conversation that was happening in front of them.

“I mean,” Raven shrugged, “do I want to get reamed out by Woods over here, just so I can finally call her ‘Commander’ to her face, or should I just be glad that I haven’t had my ass handed to me by her in a meeting yet?”

“Too early for jokes, Reyes,” Lexa started, “haven’t finished my coffee yet,” she said, pointing to the warm cardboard cup in her hands.

Before Raven could reply with some sort of comeback, they heard Clarke calling Lexa’s name from the desk at the gate.

Lexa turned around and the blonde was waving her over. Before she got up, she turned back to Raven, “Saved by the blonde.”

Lexa made her way up to the desk and Clarke had her hand held out, “Give me your boarding pass.”

Confused, but doing as she was told, she handed over the printed boarding pass to Clarke, who then handed it to the agent.

“Are you booting me off the flight, Griffin?” Raven’s use of addressing people by their last name was starting to rub off on Lexa.

“If that was an option, I probably would,” Clarke smiled, “but because I’m the loveliest person you know, and because I happen to have great status with this airline, I was upgraded and could upgrade one other person with me.”

Lexa raised a brow, “Shouldn’t that be going to the boss?” Gesturing towards where Titus was mumbling something in his sleep.

“Thought about it,” Clarke said, looking at Titus and then back to Lexa, “but I’d rather not have someone snoring in my ear for over six hours. Plus, we have work to get done so might as well be near each other.

\---

Work did not get done.

Lexa didn’t fly first class very often, being the practical and economical person she was, even though most of her trips were work-related and on the company’s dime. She forgot that with first class came unlimited drinks, and by the time the wheels of the plane were off the ground, she and Clarke were two mimosas deep.

By halfway through the flight, the pair was more than tipsy, watching reruns of “Friends” on Lexa’s screen, sharing a set of Airpods Clarke had whipped out of her purse. A yawn finally escaped Lexa’s mouth, the end result of a very boozy morning.

“Aw, come on, don’t go to bed.” Clarke protested after the third yawn.

Lexa gave the blonde a lopsided smile before reclining the seat into a full horizontal positing, turning it into a small bed, “This was your doing. God, I love first class.”

“I don’t know why you don’t book it more often.” Clarke grinned, now pressing the same button on her own seat to complement the brunette’s stance.

“I’m not as bougie as you, Griffin.” Lexa laughed, placing a pillow under her head.

“You know,” Clarke started, “when you work in events, you end up traveling so much that before you know it, you have gold status with whatever airline you want.”

“Shh…” Lexa mumbled, hovering her hands over her ears to signal Clarke to stop talking.

Clarke rolled her eyes before turning to face away from the other girl, “If I wanted to sit next to someone who was just going to go to bed, I would have given the seat to Titus.”

“Yeah,” Lexa replied sleepily, “but if you did, you wouldn’t have had this eye candy next to you.” The drinks they had just shared were obviously giving her a bout of confidence.

Clarke scoffed, “You’re full of yourself. You know that?”

“Learned it from you, blondie.” Lexa said, before she drifted off to a mimosa-induced nap.

\---

On a scale of one to ten, Lexa’s headache was probably around a four. Not bad enough to outweigh the decision of having had all the mimosas, but definitely enough to wake her from her mid-flight slumber. She groggily opened her eyes, forgetting she was on a plane and not in her own bed. It took her a few moments to realize one of her arms was over-extended to the seat next to her own, slightly touching the hand of a particular blonde who seemed to be fast asleep. She immediately jerked her hand away, in what she thought was a stealthy move, but realized her reaction caused the other girl to stir.

“Did you just hit me?” Clarke mumbled into her pillow.

“What?” Lexa questioned, “No. But do you realize how ridiculous we both look right now? If anyone saw us…”

Clarke lazily turned her face to Lexa’s, “Calm down, the curtain to economy is closed. Also, it’s not uncommon for people to sleep on an early morning flight, Lexa.”

Lexa rolled her eyes at the girl as she adjusted her seat back to its upright position, with Clarke following suit.

The blonde was rustling through her purse, which Lexa had previously dubbed as the “Barney Bag” somewhere around mimosa number three or four because of all the random and unnecessary things that were continuously being pulled out of it, before she heard someone approach Lexa, “I’m glad to see you and your girlfriend are awake, I was afraid I’d have to be the one to wake you up. We’re getting ready to land now.”

Lexa stared at the flight attendant point blank, “She’s not my girlfriend.”

“Yeah, no,” Clarke started, as she whipped her head around. “This,” she said, pointing between her and her seatmate, “is not a thing.”

“I’m so sorry, I just assumed. I mean, you were holding hands and all. I shouldn’t have assumed, though.” The flight attendant blushed before walking off.

Clarke threw a bewildered look at Lexa, “What was that about?”

“No idea.” Lexa said, pulling out her phone to pretend to do anything other than continue the conversation she was in.

\---

“Couldn’t we have just taken Ubers or something?” Lexa asked, walking up the steps into the party bus that had been waiting for the 13 Clans team outside the arrivals door at the airport.

“Trust us on this one, Woods.” Reyes replied, patting a seat down next to her, to which Lexa ignored, “It’s a two-hour drive from San Fran to Napa. This is comfy. And there’s booze.”

Lexa rolled her eyes and turned to Clarke, “Do you wine girls ever stop drinking?”

“Looks like we should be adding the typecast of party girls to this bunch.” Lincoln said, closing the door of the bus behind him and finding a seat near Octavia.

“I could use a drink. Seems like the right time of day.” Murphy said from the back of the bus, looking at the watch on his wrist.

“Comin’ right up, stud.” Clarke called out, pulling bottles of champagne from the cooler up front. She turned her attention to Lexa who was sitting closest to her, “It’s always the finance and IT guys that end up letting loose when there’s free booze.”

Lexa raised a brow, “Oh, is that right?”

“Mhm,” the noise that escaped Clarke’s mouth sounded like a soft purr, “They don’t travel as much as we do or have to go to events like we have to. We look at this stuff like work, they treat it like Spring Break. You’ll see by the end of the trip.” Clarke started filling champagne flutes with the bubbly and started passing them down for the load of the bus to enjoy and cocked her head back to Lexa, “Too soon for you, Lexa?”

Lexa turned around and saw everyone indulging, her headache was already gone, “Oh, fuck it. Hand it over.”

Clarke handed the brunette a very full flute and gave her a wink, “Welcome to my coast, Woods. You’re in for a treat.”

\---

“Holy shit,” Jasper exhaled, taking in the sight of the hotel in front of them, “I mean, I looked it up online, but I think this is probably the nicest hotel I’ve ever been to.”

“This is where we always stay when we have to come to the winery.” Octavia shrugged, as if it was nothing. “We get a good corporate rate here because of all the business we do, it’s probably more economical than if we were at The Four Seasons or Intercontinental or something like that.”

Lincoln turned to Lexa before whispering in her ear, “These girls really think The Four Seasons or Intercontinental are economical?”, earning a laugh from his friend.

“I’m going to head inside to check us all in, wait in the lobby and I’ll bring everyone their keys.” Clarke said, now clearly in work mode.

Lexa walked slowly followed Clarke in, but veered to the left where the lobby was situated. She gazed around the grandiose room, clad with furniture that looked like it belonged in the homes of millionaires, and art that looked like it belonged on the walls of the Met.

“This place seems bougie as fuck.” Lincoln stated, looking around the room they were in.

Octavia grabbed onto his arm, not before making sure they weren’t in Titus’ line of sight, “It’s one of my favorites in the country, actually. The Arkadia sort of feels like a second home because of how much we used to have to come out here for meetings.”

Murphy huffed at Octavia’s remark, “Whenever Jasper and I have to travel to a conference or something, they always put us up in whatever business hotel the conference is being held at. You know the kind, right? I’m talkin’ like the ones with carpeting that looks straight out of ‘The Shining’ or something.”

“Yeah,” Lincoln started, “Don’t get me wrong. Our team stays in a lot of luxury hotels, but this is taking it to the next level.”

It felt like only a few moments had passed before Clarke returned to the team and started handing room keys out. By the time she reached Lexa, she held onto her key a bit longer than anyone else’s and said, “Don’t worry, Commander. We’ve set you up with the nicest digs.”

“I don’t need anything fancy, Clarke. You can trade mine with Titus or yourself.” the brunette replied, now both of them holding on to the key, fingers just millimeters from brushing each other.

Clarked finally let go and winked, “Ours are just as nice, don’t worry.” The blonde turned to face the rest of the group and called out for their attention, “Okay everyone, I know it’s been a long travel day, but luckily for us, we gained three hours. Everyone head up to your rooms to freshen up and get some work done. We will be meeting on the rooftop level in two hours. Follow the signs to the pool and we will be set up to the right of that general area. Each room has welcome bags of things you’ll be needing on this trip, as well as contact sheets with mine, Octavia’s, and Raven’s phone numbers. Please do reach out if you need anything.” She was ready to head to the elevator when she remembered, “Oh, and tonight will be a late one. Market visits, including dinner, and a small outing afterwards. Dress is trendy business casual.”

\---

Lexa was grateful that not everyone was on her floor. It wasn’t that she wanted to be secluded during this trip, but she just really enjoyed some sort of space. She held the key up to lock and heard a click, granting her access. When she pushed the door open, her jaw nearly hit the ground. The room was massive, and it also wasn’t just one room. She slowly walked in, seeing her luggage already next to the walk-in closet, and tried to give herself a tour. Why Clarke felt it necessary to book her in a room that had its own living room was beyond her. She opened a door which she assumed to be the bedroom, but was surprised to find an obnoxiously large bathroom. She took notice that though the shower was big enough to house a whole frat party, clad with not one, not two, but three rainshower heads, there was unfortunately no tub, something Lexa actually enjoyed utilizing when traveling.

The marble floors crept up to the ceiling, making the room look like she was encased in of the beautiful stone. She started pressing the light switches and realized that one was to heat the floors, “Jesus,” she mumbled, finally exiting the room.

She walked back into the living room and took her leather motorcycle jacket off, hanging it over the back of the brown chesterfield couch, finally trying to feel a bit settled in. Looking at the mirror in front of her, she saw the reflection of herself in her normal travel attire. The white v-neck, black skinny jeans, and black chelsea boots always accompanied her on airplanes. Her hair was in a bun atop her head, something she must have done before she fell asleep on the plane so that her wild brown locks didn’t get in the way of either Clarke or the flight attendants trying to make their way down the aisle.

She looked down to her phone and saw one unread text message.

_CG: Thoughts on the room, Commander?_   
_LW: Very nice. Although very upset with the lack of tub. How am I supposed to get any reading done if I can’t soak with a glass of that Trishana cab I liked so much?_   
_CG: Have you not been through the whole room yet…?_   
_LW: Everything but the bedroom, why?_   
_CG: Check out the bedroom. Text me after._

What could be such a big deal in the bedroom?

Lexa opened the last remaining door left in the hotel room when her eyes locked in what Clarke was hinting at.

_LW: Oh._   
_CG: You’re welcome, tiger. Have a soak and enjoy the reading. Let me know how that works out for ya._

She put her phone in her back pocket to retrieve the other one nestled in there. She snapped a picture and typed out a message

_LW: An._   
_AW: That’s your hotel room??? I should have fucking come with you. Fuck._   
_LW: There’s always next time._

Lexa threw herself onto the bed and looked to her left. The soaking tub, big enough to fit two, maybe even three people, situated on a private balcony overlooking acres and acres of vineyards was staring back at her. She contemplated the options she had for the next hour and forty minutes. She could catch up on emails, which she already did on the party bus to the hotel. She could get in the tub and bask in all its glory. She could take a nap, but was fairly certain since she slept for three hours on the plane, it would probably take her an hour to even fall asleep. Or she could take a quick shower, get ready for the evening, and see about a cocktail. Why risk an early evening champagne hangover if she could keep the light buzz going? She didn’t see any harm in that.

After spending an extra ten minutes in the shower, because the water pressure was just that good, and an extra five standing in the middle of the bathroom with just her towel wrapped around her, because the warmth of the floors was just that good, Lexa finally slipped into the black jumpsuit she had planned to wear for their first evening in Napa. There was no doubt the way it was cut flattered every part of her; it had been a while since she had to get semi-dressed up for anything other than a big meeting, so being able to wear this was already making her feel all sorts of good. She slipped on a pair of wedged black mules and brushed her hair over the side of one shoulder, before putting the finishing touches on her makeup.

She heard her phone go off in the other room, unsure of which one it was. She made a mental note to herself to at least change her ring tones so she knew which phone needed her attention in the future.

_AW: What’s the plan for tonight?_   
_LW: Not sure. Market visits, dinner, and some party after or something. Clarke’s letting us know in a bit when we all meet up._   
_AW: Are you dressed to impress?_

Lexa snapped a quick mirror selfie, something that was as rare of an occurrence as Trump saying something non offensive, sending it to her cousin.

_AW: Well hot damn, Lex. You’re lookin’ like you fit right into that glamourous room Clarke set you up in._   
_LW: Just trying to play the part._

She put the phone down and picked up the other.

_LW: Busy?_   
_CG: Miss me already?_   
_LW: In your wildest dreams. Was going to head down for a drink, wanted to see if you would join me._   
_CG: Sure, give me 5. Bar on restaurant level though, not the lobby bar._

Lexa walked into the bathroom one last time, patting her jumpsuit down so it didn’t wrinkle. She sprayed a spritz of her favorite scent, a mixture of pine and sandalwood, onto her neck and then onto her wrist, before grabbing her purse and motorcycle jacket and making her way out the door.

After making a few wrong turns, she finally made her way to the bar. She quickly spotted Clarke who was sitting at a hightop table for two, clad with two drinks atop it already.

“You look nice.” Lexa said as she walked from behind Clarke to make her way to the empty chair across her, “Is this seat taken?”

“Actually,” Clarke raised a brow, “it is. I’m meeting a coworker for a drink, she normally has a scowl on her face. Have you seen her around?”

Lexa rolled her eyes before picking up the cocktail in front of her, “What is it that we’re drinking?”

“Sankru, soda, and lime,” Clarke leaned her drink forward to clank against Lexa’s, “By the way, you look nice too.”

Lexa smiled and raised her glass, “Will you do the honor of sharing a toast, Griffin?”

“Hmm,” Clarke hummed, her blue eyes never leaving the green ones staring right back at her, “To a week we’ll never forget.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For reference, this is Lexa's hotel room: https://www.greatsmallhotels.com/photos/47212_hotel-demetria_.jpg


	5. I'm So Happy About Whatever This Is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thanks so much for reading this! All the comments, kudos, and bookmarks are so lovely to see. I hope you enjoy this next bit (and apologize in advance for introducing a certain character, but this person serves a point later on). Let me know what you think. :)
> 
> PS - Apologies for any typos!! @kay_be is still too busy to beta for my updates. ;)

She had to admit it, she was actually having a good time one-on-one with Clarke. There was something different about the interaction compared to the night at her apartment; now, they were in a new setting, they weren’t immersed in work, and they hadn’t bickered at all. Lexa was learning a lot about the blonde sitting across the table from her. She found out that Clarke had gone halfway through med school at Johns Hopkins before realizing she didn’t want to be her mother’s clone. She learned that when Clarke was stressed, she filled her time with sketching and painting. She also learned that because heading up the events team for one of the country’s biggest wineries, Clarke hadn’t seriously dated anyone in nearly five years.

“Five years?” Lexa nearly gasped, “Do you think adding all these other brands to your workload is going to help you out in that department?”

Clarke laughed as she took a sip of her drink, the pair were now on round two, “Absolutely not. I was traveling so much when it was just Trishana, now I feel like it’s already doubling and we’re not even in busy season for Skai or Sankru yet,” she stopped to look at Lexa, “Maybe I just need to learn how to compartmentalize like you do.”

Lexa chuckled at the comment, “Well, I don’t know if you want to take any notes from my playbook. I may not travel nearly as much as you do, but I’m still busy. Work comes first and I don’t have much time for anything else.”

Clarke raised a brow, now curious as to what Lexa’s dating life, or lack thereof consisted of, “When’s the last time you dated, Lexa?”

“Probably three years ago,” the brunette shrugged as she took a sip of her drink, “that was just going on random dates here and there, I haven’t been in something serious in God knows how long.”

“Something tells me working for this company isn’t conducive for having a healthy relationship. Would have been nice if we got a warning going into this,” Clarke smirked.

“Well,” Lexa started, her eyes roamed behind Clarke to find Lincoln and Octavia making their way to their table, “looks like some people are making it work just fine.”

Clarke turned around to see Lincoln, dressed in sleek grey trousers with a matching jacket and a white shirt with the first two buttons undone, and Octavia in a short navy dress, “Lincoln, you handsome devil, you clean up nice.”

Lincoln returned her compliment with a smile as he pretended to spin around and show his outfit off, “Fancy seeing you ladies here, you both look wonderful. Commander, haven’t seen you dressed up like this in a while.”

Lexa nodded and smiled, “Well, when the wine girls promised us a good time, I couldn’t help but dress to the occasion.”

“Ah,” Clarke smirked as she turned to Lexa and pointed at herself, “so is this little get up of yours for me?”

“In your wildest dreams, Griffin. I know it’s been five years, but don’t get it twisted,” Lexa said as she returned Clarke’s cocky smirk.

“Part of me wants to know what you guys were talking about before we got here, but another part of me thinks we should grab a drink before we have to head over to meet everyone,” Octavia chimed, “Linc, let’s grab a cocktail then we can sit down with them until the welcome reception.”

“Ladies, can we get you another round?” Lincoln asked, looking between the two that were seated.

Clarke raised a brow and looked at Lexa, “I’ll have one if she is.”

“How long of a night are we having?” Lexa asked the blonde.

“A very long one.” Clarke replied, almost matter of factly.

“Then, yes. Two Sankru Reposados, neat.”

The man nodded and quickly walked off to catch up with Octavia who was already at the bar.

Lexa still had her eyes fixed on her friend, “Is she just as smitten as he is?”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “To an aggravating extent. How does that work anyway? If they started dating. Are there rules and everything?”

Lexa shrugged, “It’s fine. There are couples at the office. If you haven’t picked up on them yet, you probably will soon. I think you just need to let your managers and HR know.”

Clarke’s eyes went wide, “People at work get together?”

“I mean, look at it this way,” Lexa said, “All the drinking, all the late nights, all the traveling, it’s like we’re all working all the time. There are some days where it’s as if we’re working 16 hours straight because of things we need to attend to after the office, it only makes sense that with all the time certain people spend together, lines may get blurred.”

“Yeah,” Clarked nodded, “I guess I never looked at it that way.”

Lexa replied with a shrug.

Clarke raised a brow, “So are you going to give me the dirt on who’s shacking up?”

“Not my secrets to tell, Clarke.”

“What aren’t?” Octavia asked, setting the two tequilas down as she took her drink from Lincoln.

“Nothing,” Clarke said, her mind now switching back to work mode, “Let’s have these quick, O, so we can head over and make sure everything’s set up correctly?”

“Raven’s on it already. She sent me pics, it looks great.” Octavia answered. When Clarke mentioned to her two friends that she was grabbing a drink with Lexa, Raven thankfully offered to Octavia to oversee the final touches, so she could also have a drink with Lincoln.

“God,” Clarke started, “that girl’s amazing.”

“She’s always got our backs, that’s for sure.” Octavia smiled.

“Cheers to Raven?” Lincoln asked jokingly, as he held his glass up for a toast.

Everyone laughed and followed his lead, “To Raven!”

\---

The four made their way up to the rooftop and were greeted by two astonishingly attractive women. The first one waved, “Hi, thanks for joining us at the 13 Clans welcome reception. Find your name tags on the table here, then please choose a welcome cocktail over to my left,” she motioned as the second girl, manning the drinks, smiled.

“Thank you very much,” Lexa smiled, clearly making eyes at the girl before she scanned the table to claim her tag.

“Not a problem at all,” the girl started, then looked to the tag Lexa had affixed to the breast of her jumpsuit, “Lexa.”

The brunette cocked a brow, “I think it’s only fair I know your name since you know mine now.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Okay, Lexa. Niylah has work to do,” she shoved Lexa towards the next table for the brunette to collect her cocktail, “Thank you, Niylah.”

“Hey,” Lexa said after choosing her drink and walking towards the area everyone was congregating in, “why’d you do that?”

“Why are you flirting with my staff?” Clarke raised a brow, “stop being flirty after a few drinks, it’s not a good look.”

Lexa crossed her arms, “Clarke, you seem to think it’s a good look when we’re at the bar back home, after I’ve had a few drinks and flirt with you.”

Clarke opened her mouth to say something, but not a word came out. With her mouth still slightly agape, Lexa shrugged and walked off to look for everyone else.

“Holy shit,” Clarke heard a voice from behind her and turned to find Raven, “Look at legs over there. The Commander is looking mighty fine tonight.”

Clarke took a second to compose herself after Lexa’s comment, then another after she glanced over to see what Raven was talking about. From the day she first met her, there had never been a doubt in her mind that Lexa Woods was a striking woman, “Doesn’t change the fact that she’s still dreadful to be around.”

Raven laughed, “What’d the Commander bitch you out for this time, boss?”

“Nothing,” Clarke sighed, “she’s just annoying, as usual.”

“I don’t know,” Raven said, eyes still on Lexa, “maybe you’re just annoyed that you’re going to have to be around her looking all hot and shit tonight.”

“Okay, enough,” Clarke said, hand up to the girl, “Where’s Titus? I want to make sure he’s having a decent time.”

“Relax, Clarke. He’s fine. You hired a whole staff to take care of this thing. Go mingle and enjoy yourself.”

“Fine,” the blonde huffed as she retreated to get her name tag before walking into the crowd.

All of the faces around her were familiar. Those at the event that hadn’t flown in with the New York team were all based out in Napa, people Clarke had worked with during her whole time before the 13 Clans merge. She spent a good amount of time catching up with old friends and colleagues, hearing what it’s been like at the winery since the changes happened, and exchanging stories of how her, Raven, and Octavia had been adjusting to their move to New York.

She scanned the crowd and saw Octavia, Lincoln, Lexa and Titus huddled together. Not wanting to have to deal with Lexa, she made a brisk turn and walked directly into someone.

“What a sight for sore eyes, Griffin!” the voice boasted as arms flew around her to pick her up and twirl her around, a spectacle noticed by every person at the intimate event.

The blonde couldn’t help but knock her head back and laugh at the greeting, “Finn, put me down!” when her feet finally hit the ground she smiled at the man, “Look at you! Growing your hair out and everything. You look good.”

“And you,” he said, taking a step back in admiration, “are just as radiating as ever.”

“You stop that,” she replied, swatting his arm.

“I mean, you don’t call, you don’t text, you move to New York and forget about us all here in Napa, which I may add is exponentially more beautiful than New York could ever be. Now you show up looking like this,” he smiled, “I just. I don’t know. It’s just so good to see you.”

“I’m glad we’re all here,” Clarke smiled.

She looked over and noticed that Titus was leading the group over to where she and Finn were standing, and she stepped back to create some room between her and the now shaggy-haired man, “Come on,” she motioned to Finn, “I want to introduce you to some people.”

Finn nodded and turned to find Octavia and three new faces.

“Finn Collins,” he said, reaching his hand out to Titus, Lincoln, and lastly, Lexa. Before Lexa could even say her name back to him, he continued, “Lexa Woods, the infamous Commander. Lovely to meet you in the flesh.”

“Ah,” she smiled, then looked to Clarke, “spreading rumors about me from coast-to-coast, Griffin?”

Clarke returned the smile, “As if I would ever dare to speak your name to anyone, Lexa.”

“I’ve just heard about you through the grapevine, you’re a sort of legend within the 13 Clans circle.” Finn smiled, “I’m happy you’re finally making it out for a visit. You’re going to fall in love with the winery, we have such a great day planned for everyone tomorrow.”

“You don’t need to kiss her ass, Finn.” Clarke rolled her eyes at him.

“No, I don’t, and I’m not,” he smiled before holding out his hand for her to take, “but I do need to get you a drink so we can continue catching up.”

Clarke put her hand in his as quickly as he reached out and excused herself to leave with him.

“That was,” Lincoln started, his eyes lingering on Clarke and Finn walking towards the bar, “interesting.”

“They seem,” Titus also had his eyes on them.

“Close?” Lincoln asked, trying to finish the man’s sentence.

“Who exactly was that?” Lexa asked, her attention was turned to Octavia.

“Finn Collins,” she replied, “He’s in charge of all the events and bookings at the winery. Everything from consumer tours to distributor and sales trips to large bookings like weddings and whatnot. He’s had the hots for Griff since the day he met her, if you couldn’t tell.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “Well that’s obvious.”

Titus shrugged and walked off, Octavia following his lead, when Lexa felt Lincoln poke her with his elbow, “Someone’s getting jealous,” he whispered and winked.

Lexa pinched her lips before turning to her friend, “There’s no reason for me to be jealous, Linc. Just curious, that’s all.”

He sighed and shook his head before he walked away, “Whatever you say, Commander.”

Lexa abandoned the drink in her hand on a nearby tabletop, realizing if there was, in fact, a very long night ahead of them, she should probably slow down. She unzipped her purse to check her phones, happy to find an unread message from her cousin.

_AW: How’s the good life?_  
_LW: Ha! It’s interesting._  
_AW: In… a good way?_  
_LW: Just, in an interesting way._  
_AW: ???_  
_LW: Clarke and I had a drink before this welcome reception we’re at and we were talking about Lincoln and Octavia who are obviously both so into each other. She asked about relationships at the office and was surprised when I said it’s not technically frowned upon as long as they’re handled tastefully._  
_AW: Was she asking because she knows you want to hop in her pants?_  
_LW: There are no pants that I want to be hopping in, An._  
_AW: So she’s wearing a dress, then?_  
_LW: AN. Stop. I wasn’t done with my story._  
_AW: You’re useless. Continue._  
_LW: Anyway, she ran into some guy that she used to work with at the winery when she was based out here and they were all over each other. I think she asked because there might be something going on._  
_AW: All over each other? They were like kissing and stuff? That’s 0% work appropriate. Did Titus see? He’s probably livid._  
_LW: What?? No, they weren’t doing that._  
_AW: You literally just said they were all over each other._  
_LW: No, not like that. I don’t know, I can’t explain it._  
_AW: OH._  
_LW: OH what?_  
_AW: This is cute. You’re cute, Lex._  
_LW: What are you talking about?_  
_AW: Jealousy doesn’t suit you, little cousin. Stop pouting, put your phone away, and get your panties out of a bunch. Go mingle and stop being pissy that she’s giving someone else attention for a change._  
_LW: What?? That’s not what this is._  
_AW: Uh huh. Bye, Lex._

“Event is so boring that you’d rather stand alone in a corner on your phone?”

Lexa looked up with a scowl on her face, irritated from Anya’s texts, “It was An. When are we leaving for the market visits?”

Clarke noticed the tremendous mood shift, “Is everything okay with her?”

“She’s being infuriating.”

Clarke crossed her arms and smirked, “Pot calling the kettle black?”

Lexa rolled her eyes and tapped her foot, “When are we leaving for the market visits, Clarke?”

The blonde stood up a little straighter, she knew Lexa was in a mood and was done with whatever this conversation even was, “Busses are arriving now. We’re going downstairs in a minute. There are three groups, all going to the off-premise. Each group is visiting three high-end liquor stores and then we’re all meeting for dinner. The on-premise visit after dinner is at our biggest account for the newest Trishana prosecco in the city. That one’s optional.”

“Optional?” Lexa asked, “Why?”

“It’s a bit of a controversial account, we don’t want to force anyone to go.”

Lexa noticed that Clarke had shifted into work-mode and finally loosened up a bit, “That sounds intriguing.”

“You’d like it. We’re not telling anyone where we’re going until we get there. At the end of dinner, I’m just going to say something like ‘If you get easily offended, head back to the hotel. If not, come with me for a good time,’” Clarke laughed.

Lexa finally let out a small smile, “Sounds like something that shouldn’t be missed, then.”

“There’s that smile,” Clarke said, pointing to the brunette’s face, “Keep it on for the night. It suits you, tiger.”

\---

“That was excruciating,” Lexa said, pulling out her chair to take a seat at the dinner table.

“What do you mean?” Lincoln asked, taking the seat to her right, “That was awesome and you know it.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “You guys all suck.”

Clarke laughed as she took the seat opposite Lexa’s, “Honestly, that was the best market visit I think I’ve ever been on, Lexa.”

“I hate you all.”

Clarke was still laughing, “You don’t, and you know you don’t. I mean, we unlocked what the new strategy for Trishana should be. Get Lexa behind a table in a liquor store to do tastings. I’ve never seen a line so long in a store to try a little free wine.”

Raven took the seat to Lexa’s left, “Lexa, your hot ass made that liquor store so much money tonight. You’ve missed your true calling,” she turned her attention to Clarke, “Hey, Griff. How do you think she’d fare at the account visit tonight? She’d probably kill it there, too.”

Clarke widened her eyes at her friend, “You stop that, Rae.”

“What’s wrong, Griff?” Raven asked her friend. Having worked with Clarke and Octavia planning this whole trip, she very well knew what was on the blonde’s mind at that very moment.

“Okay,” Lexa tossed her hands up in the air, “Where the fuck are we going tonight?” she looked to Clarke, “You said it’s optional, right? Count me out.”

“No, no,” Clarke protested, “we’ll stop teasing you. You need to come, though. I promise I won’t make you do manual labor again.”

Octavia, seated across Raven, burst out laughing at the conversation, “I mean, if we put Lexa to work tonight, I think it’s only fair we put Clarke to work also.”

Lexa cocked her head, “I don’t know where we’re going tonight, but I agree.”

Raven couldn’t contain her smile, “Holy shit. Griff, we’re tapping you in, buddy. Game on.”

Clarke pointed a finger to Octavia and Raven, “Don’t forget who does your annual reviews. This isn’t funny.”

“Coming out of this trip with a good story is worth missing a promotion for another year,” Octavia shrugged.

“Yeah, Raven chimed in, “I’m with her on that. Sorry, Griff. Drink up, your turn’s next.”

“Okay,” Lexa smiled, “Still don’t know where we’re going, but I’m so happy about whatever this is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, let's play a guessing game. Where do you guys think they're going?!


	6. No Chance That I'm Leaving Here Without You On Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Back from vacation and have finally have an update here!!! You guys were totally right in your comments from the last chapter. Hope you enjoy this one. ;)
> 
> Once again - thanks for being such awesome readers and for all the comments and love. Seeing all that really makes writing this story so much more enjoyable for me.
> 
> Don't forget - if you want to share anything, request anything for this story, or just want to see any updates for this or my other stories, you can peep my tumblr (@cantgetoutofmyheda).
> 
> Hope you enjoy this one. Much love!
> 
> PS - Sorry for any typos!!!

“Oh.” Lexa said as she stepped out of the party bus and looked at the building in front of them, with a rather large neon sign reading ‘City of Lights Gentlemen’s Club.’ “Very unconventional, Griffin.”

“Conventional in the sense of being a good account for prosecco bottle service, though.” Clarke laughed, as she walked up to Lexa’s side, “It’s always a good time here, anyway.”

Lexa smirked at the blonde by her side, “Always?”

Raven walked towards Lexa and shrugged, “Yeah, it was one of our go-to’s for after work drinks all the time.”

“All the time?” Lexa asked, as she cocked a brow.

Finn found a way to wedge himself between Lexa and Clarke before getting eerily close to Lexa’s ear, “Close by, good specials, great views. What more could you ask for?”

Clarke rolled her eyes at him before taking a step forward to get back in Lexa’s line of sight, “It essentially was our neighborhood bar. But to be fair, we usually got a table in the back, away from all the commotion. Had to show them some love because of all the bottles they go through for us.”

Lexa smiled and also took a step forward, removing Finn totally from her view, “Well, are you going to lead the way in, or are we going to hang out in the parking lot all night? I want to see what all the fuss is about.”

“After you,” Clarke said, stepping out of the way with her hand out for Lexa to make the first entrance.

“No way, Griffin,” Lexa laughed, “These are your old stomping grounds, please do the honor.”

Clarke smirked as she linked arms with the brunette so the two could walk in together, “Nervous of what you’re going to find inside, Commander?”

“The Commander doesn’t get nervous,” Lexa winked.

Clarke’s grin widened as she pulled Lexa just a little bit closer, “This is going to be fun.”

The two walked in, arms still linked, with the rest of the crew that opted to come behind them. Raven and Finn walked in as they owned the place, while Octavia stuck by Lincoln’s side to take notice if the man’s eyes would wander or not. Murphy and Jasper filed in after everyone else, wide-eyed like kids in a candy shop, earning a laugh from Clarke when she saw the two practically drooling. She was just especially grateful that Titus decided to head back to the hotel right after dinner.

As Clarke and Lexa made their way up to the hostess stand, they heard a man’s voice coming from the darkness behind the cocktail waitress who was about to greet them, “Well, well, well. Look who decided to grace us with her presence.”

Clarke immediately recognized the man who had appeared from the back, before running up to him and jumping in his arms, “Roan!”

“My favorite customers!” the man exclaimed, embracing the blonde into a tight hug, doing the same with Raven and Octavia, finally settling on Finn and giving the man a fist bump.

“You weren’t kidding, huh?” Lexa asked in Clarke’s general direction.

“What can I say? We were regulars,” Clarke boasted with a big smile, before turning her attention back to Roan, “We’re here on a market visit with the HQ team from New York, actually. I called the other day for that private section up by the stage.”

Roan nodded, “It’s already set up. Anyone else joining you tonight, or is this it?”

Clarke smiled, “One more.”

“Come on,” Finn said, interrupting the discussion as he grabbed for Clarke’s hand, “let’s go get our drink on, Griff. We need to make up for lost time, and now we can finally unwind.”

“Finn, I’m still kind of working,” Clarke said, trudging behind him as he walked towards the stage.

He turned back to smile at her, “It’s the last stop of the night. We’re here to feel good, aren’t we?”

She looked up to him with a bit of glimmer in her eyes, “Well, I suppose so.”

“That’s my girl,” he smiled as they stopped at their table, “should I call over a cocktail waitress to pour these drinks for us?”

Clarke smirked at him, “I’d like to think that I look good enough to do that myself.”

He returned the look, “You look good enough to do a lot of things right now, Griff.”

Everyone started to fill onto the U-shaped couch with a first class seat to the show that was going on. At the hour of the night it was, the place seemed to already be at capacity. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this was one of the classier gentlemen’s clubs in existence. If anything, the clientele already proved that. Groups of men clad with expensive suits, shiny watches, and newly polished shoes were scattered around the club. There were the one or two odd bachelorette parties that looked to be getting some sort of bottle service, and there were obviously the lone wolves sitting right at the stage with glasses of expensive single malts in one hand and wads of cash in the other.

“Are they always like that?” Lincoln nudged Octavia, looking in Finn and Clarke’s direction.

“I told you,” she started, “he’s always had the hots for her. And if you couldn’t tell, Griff gets flirty when she’s had a few drinks.”

“I think we’re beyond ‘a few,” Raven smirked.

Lexa looked over in Clarke’s direction and rolled her eyes at the sight in front of her, she wasn’t exactly sure what she was feeling, but she knew that a drink would probably take the edge off whatever it was. She stood up to reach over and grab a bottle of Sankru that was chilling in an ice bucket when she felt Clarke’s hand on top of hers, “Let me.”

“I can make a drink, Clarke. You seem a bit preoccupied anyway,” Lexa said with a raised brow before pulling up a second glass, “I’d be glad to pour you one, too.”

Clarke matched Lexa’s raised brow at the brunette’s comment, but decided to let it go, “I’ll have what you’re having, then.”

Lexa nodded as she handed Clarke the drink, which wasn’t so much a cocktail, rather straight tequila over a few cubes of ice, “You said to the guy that checked us in that we were waiting on one more. Hopefully not a friend of his?,” Lexa smirked, looking at Finn who was entranced by a woman on the stage dancing right in front of him.

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Stop it. He’s harmless.”

“He’s like a lovesick puppy dog,” Lexa said, drinking nearly half her drink in one long sip.

Clarke, now sensing exactly what was happening, took a sip as big as Lexa’s before she refilled both their glasses, “You sound mad about it.”

“Just observing,” Lexa smiled, “You forgot to answer my question. Who’s joining us? Do I need to be on my best behavior?”

Clarke sighed, remembering the events from earlier in the afternoon, “Do you remember the girls that greeted us at the welcome reception near the pool? I invited Niylah to come when they were done breaking down the setups at dinner.”

The corner of Lexa’s mouth raised in the faintest of smiles, “What agency does she work for again?”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Grounder Marketing. They do simple events for us here in the Napa area, mostly for internal things. Why?”

“Just wondering,” Lexa smiled, “She seems nice.”

Clarke shook her head, “Nice, or nice to look at?”

Lexa shrugged, “Both.”

“Are you two playing nice?” Raven asked, approaching where the pair was standing, “You know, we’re at a strip club. You should be using your time here wisely, there’s a beautiful woman dancing to ‘Body Party’ by Ciara right now, and you two weirdos haven’t even noticed.”

“I’m not here to objectify anyone, Raven,” Lexa pointed out, taking another sip from her Sankru.

“Not unless her name is Niylah,” Clarke smirked.

“Oh shit. Commander, you’ve got a thing for Niylah?” Raven asked, nudging Lexa’s arm.

Lexa rolled her eyes, “Just because I’m not sober doesn’t mean I would forget telling you that you couldn’t call me that, Reyes. And no, I don’t have a thing for her. All I said was that she was pretty.”

“Well,” Raven started, “by the way she was looking at you, I’d assume the feeling is shared.”

“Okay,” Clarke interjected and turned her attention to the stage, “can we focus less on that and more on what’s happening up there?”

“My pleasure,” Raven smiled.

\---

“Guys,” Finn slurred, making his way back to the table from the front hostess table, “you’re welcome.”

“For?” Lincoln asked, raising his brow at the drunk man stumbling towards him.

Finn raised seven small pieces of paper in his hand, while wearing a sleazy, toothy grin.

Raven immediately knew what he had done, “Oh, Jesus.”

“Finn,” Clarke practically reprimanded him, “are you serious?”

Murphy, clad with a confused expression in his face, looked between all of them, “Anyone care to fill the rest of us in?”

Octavia rolled her eyes, “He bought us all private lap dances. It’s his go-to when he’s shitfaced.”

“Not that I’m complaining, because thank you,” Jasper grinned in Finn’s direction, “but why do I feel like all of this goes against company policy? Being as wasted as he is and getting your freak on in front of your coworkers?”

Lexa’s green eyes glared at Finn, “Because it does.”

Finn laughed and shot Lexa a smug smile, “Is the great and mighty Commander scared of bending the rules?”

The tequila and everything else Lexa had consumed that evening was undoubtedly coursing through her veins. As much as she wanted to lash out at the man for his jibe, she gritted her teeth and decided not to let herself go there, “No, Finn. I do what I want when I want. I’d just hope for your sake you didn’t put that on the corporate card because you’re going to have a lot of explaining to do when you put in your expenses.”

“As if I could be that stupid,” Finn scoffed.

Lexa shrugged as a grin overtook her face, “I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

Finn rolled his eyes at the brunette before passing the tickets out, leaving Lexa’s for last, “You’re welcome, by the way.”

“Okay, you two,” Clarke interrupted, “play nice. And you,” she said, pointing her attention to Finn, “I think you’ve had enough to drink. Switch to water for now.”

“Yes ma’am,” he responded, saluting her.

“Is it me, or have those two been at each other’s throats tonight?” Jasper asked, to no one in particular, motioning towards Lexa and Finn.

Murphy nodded, “Definitely. It’s like they’re having a major pissing content. But why?”

Lincoln and Octavia both chuckled at the same time in response to Murphy’s question. It might not have been obvious to the rest of the group, maybe not even to Clarke, or Lexa for that matter, but it was clear to the pair and Raven that there had been a power struggle revolving around Clarke’s attention that evening.

The song had changed and the sound of the bass bumped through the whole venue. As cliche as the new tune was for the place they were in, everyone immediately whipped their heads to the staged to see who had the honor of dancing to “Pony” by Ginuwine.

A blonde, clad in a loose-fitting white tank top, baggy dark sweatpants, and a red snapback slowly walked towards the front of the stage, to the slow beat to the song. Needless to say, everyone’s mouths dropped. The song was cliche for a reason, but no one was complaining at the bit they knew she was about to perform.

“Holy…” Lexa silently let out, earning an amused grin from Clarke.

The blonde lightly jabbed her elbow into Lexa’s side to get her attention, “Like what you see, Commander?”

Lexa’s jaw was nearly on the floor, “I mean…”

Octavia’s reaction almost perfectly mirrored Lexa’s, “I second that. If this girl actually gets all ‘Magic Mike’ on this stage, I might have to reevaluate my sexuality.”

Lincoln smirked at the girl, “What if I told you I know that whole dance?”

Octavia turned her head from the stage to Lincoln so fast that she might as well have twisted it off, “I didn’t think I could like you anymore, but you just proved that wrong.”

“Holy shit,” Raven let out, “she’s doing the thing with the body roll on the floor. She’s doing it. Look at her! She’s doing it!”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Yes, Raven. We can all see that.”

“Clarke,” Raven replied, “give me some cash.”

Clarke eyed her friend, “What?”

“Give me money right now, Griffin. I need to shower her with all the bills,” Raven demanded.

With her jaw still on the floor, Lexa heard Raven’s demands to Clarke and reached into her own purse to hand Raven the money herself, “Give the lady what she deserves, Reyes.”

“Oh, God. You too?” Clarke asked, eyes on Lexa.

Lexa looked at the blonde wide-eyed at the accusation, “Clarke, you can’t take me to a place like this and put a girl like that on the stage and have her dance to a song like this and not expect me to react.”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “You’re too easy, tiger. This is the most cliche act at any strip club since ‘Magic Mike’ came out.”

At that point, Lexa thought that Clarke had gone absolutely mad, “You’re seriously going to tell me that this isn’t doing it for you?”

The blonde shrugged, “I’m just not a fan of cliche songs at places like this. I appreciate it much more when a girl can take an unexpected song and turn it into something that would make me want to crawl up on the stage to be closer to her.”

Lexa raised a brow, “Such as?”

Raven laughed as she thumbed through the cash Lexa had handed her, “Griff loves it when girls dance to mainstream pop music. It’s bizarre, but it’s her thing.”

Clarke just shrugged as Lexa turned her neck to look back to her, “Seriously? Pop music?”

“What can I say,” Clarke smiled, “I’m a sucker for top 40s stuff.”

Lexa wore a confused smile as she shook her head at the girl, “I don’t think that would do anything for me. Who are those kids on the radio now? The boy band that broke up and everyone went solo. One Direction? That’s top 40s stuff and if any of their songs came on and a girl started a routine to it, I’d probably just laugh.”

“Well,” Clarke replied, “to each their own.”

Just then, they noticed Raven making her way to the stage, earning the attention of the girl performing. She slid the money across the floor of the stage, getting it as close to the girl as possible. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Raven did it that way so the dancer would have to bend over right in front of her. The theory was proven correct as the blonde on the stage did just exactly that, earning the widest smile on Raven’s face. The dancer nodded at her, but then turned her attention to Lexa who’s jaw found its place back on the floor and shot her a wink and blew her a kiss, before getting back to her choreography.

Raven’s eyes went wide as she ran back to where Lexa and Clarke were sitting, “Holy shit, did you see that, Lexa?”

“I think the whole club saw that,” Clarke groaned.

Raven raised a brow at her friend, “Don’t be jealous, Griff.” She realized that she should probably clarify exactly what kind of jealousy she was talking about. It was obvious to some of their group that Lexa and Clarke had some sort of weird flirting thing going on whenever the pair had a few drinks in them, but she didn’t want to be the one to be the first to actually bring it up while both girls were in front of her, “I’m sure you’ll get some lovin’ from one of these beauts when you go in for your private dance.”

Before Clarke could respond, she was distracted by Lexa quickly wrangling her mane into a bun at the top of her head, “Why’d you do that? I mean, it looks good, but your hair also looked really good down.”

“Is it getting hot in here, or is it me?” Lexa answered, using her hand to fan herself.

Overhearing the conversation, Octavia moved closer to the rest of the girls, “I think it’s you, Lexa. Seems like you’re getting worked up over Griff’s stripper doppelganger.”

Clarke scoffed, “Seriously, O? We look nothing alike.”

“Griff,” Octavia said, putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder, “I’d take that as a compliment. Do you not happen to notice how every single person in this establishment is drooling over her right now? Blonde hair? Check. Blue eyes? Check. Great rack? Check.”

Clarke shook her head, “I’d like to think I’m more than just that, but thanks, I guess.”

“Can we go redeem these dances now, please?” Raven asked, holding her ticket up.

“Fine, but let’s all go together to make it not as weird, please?” Clarke asked.

Lexa turned her attention to Clarke, “Wouldn’t that make it weirder?”

“It’s kind of a good laugh when we’re all together,” Raven shrugged at Lexa before walking to the back of the club, yanking Octavia at her side.

“Jeez, Rae. Death grip, much?” Octavia asked, Raven’s hand still attached to her wrist.

Raven smirked at her friend, “Did you realize Lexa never denied that the dancer looked like Clarke, especially after all the drooling she was doing over her?”

“Oh,” Octavia’s smirk was now matching the girl’s at her side, “abso-fucking-lutely.”

Clarke and Lexa caught up to the other two who were standing next to a hostess towards the back area of the club. Once all four girls were present, the woman in a skin-tight leather dress led them behind a curtain to closed double doors with a sign atop reading “Trishana Room.”

“No fucking way,” Lexa laughed.

Clarke smirked, “Told you this was a huge account for us. No Champagne Room here.”

“I’ll give it to you, Clarke. This is impressive. Hilarious, but impressive,” Lexa grinned, as the woman opened the doors.

The four walked in and were welcomed by an extremely elegant-looking couch in the back of the room, clad with a table in front of it with a bucket of ice and chilled bottles of Trishana Prosecco in them.

“Ladies,” the hostess commanded, “are you doing this all together or would you like me to bring in a chair so you can go one at a time?”

“The chair is a necessity, babe,” Raven answered, “We will be definitely flying solo tonight.”

The woman nodded, “Any song preferences?”

Clarke shrugged and turned to her three companions, “Let’s make this interesting,” she then turned her attention back to the hostess, “Why don’t you surprise us? Let the dancers pick.”

The woman nodded again, “And what order are we going in? Would you ladies mind taking a seat and staying in them so I can let the dancers know who they will be working with?”

Raven immediately rushed to the first seat, obviously eager to get her own personal performance. Octavia nudged Lexa to take a seat next to Raven, “Come on, newbie. You go next.”

Lexa shook her head, still in disbelief that she was even in this situation, but obliged and took the seat next to Raven. Clarke instinctively followed suit behind the girl, leaving Octavia to take the last seat.

“Very well,” the woman smiled as she walked to exit the room, “Please enjoy a glass of our finest Trishana Prosecco and I’ll have our first dancer come in with the chair and the show will begin.”

As soon as the woman left, Clarke took it upon herself to pop a bottle open and start pouring glasses for her friends.

“Your pours get heavier as the night goes on, huh?” Lexa asked, raising a brow at the almost over-flowing glass of prosecco in her hand, “If I wasn’t drunk already, I would have asked if you were trying to get me drunk.”

Clarke smirked as she handed glasses to the other two, “Just trying to keep you drunk, tiger.”

Lexa smiled as she tilted her chin up slightly, angling herself to take a large sip of her drink, “As long as you’re keeping up with me, I don’t think I even care.”

“I haven’t been sober since before dinner,” Clarke replied, clinking her glass to Lexa’s before taking a sip.

\---

The girls were nearing the end of their second glasses of bubbly, talking and giggling and awaiting the inevitable when the sound system kicked in and a familiar song started playing.

Raven’s eyes lit up, “Holy shit. Yes. This is going to be so hot.”

Clarke shook her head and rolled her eyes, “Seriously, Rae? Another cliche song for this. ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails?”

Raven topped off her drink before guzzling the whole thing down, “Don’t ruin this for me, Griff.”

Just then, the door opened and the girl who danced to “Body Party” walked in with a chair, placing it in the center of the room, facing the couch. The girl gestured a pulling motion with her finger at Raven, then pointed at the chair. Before Raven made her way, she faced her friends and mouthed, “Oh my fucking God,” before walking towards the dancer and taking a seat.

Clarke nudged at Lexa’s side, “This is like a six-minute song. Rae’s going to literally die in that chair.”

Lexa chuckled and turned to the blonde, “I am so glad we’re all doing this together now, this is going to be so entertaining to watch.”

Lexa was right. So was Clarke. It was absolutely entertaining. And for all of the six minutes that the song went on for, Raven was absolutely dying in her seat. Though her hands were kept politely folded in her lap (this wasn’t her first rodeo, she knew the club had a strict no-touching rule), every facial expression gave a telling story that the girl was in absolute bliss for the entirety of the song. Every time the dancer made any skin-to-skin contact with Raven, her whole body would tense up, eyes would widen, grip on her hands would clench. Every time the dancer bent over in front of her, her jaw would crash down, almost strong enough to break through the floor and probably land in the basement.

When the song ended, Raven reached into a pocket to hand the dancer a tip, earning a wink and a kiss on the cheek, leaving the girl absolutely dizzy and lightheaded. When the dancer left the room, closing the door, Raven finally got up and made her way back to her seat on the couch, “Holy fucking shit.”

Octavia nodded, “That was so hot. Is it bad even though I’m straight and a proclaimed feminist, I still find myself objectifying women that move their bodies like that?”

Clarke hummed, “I think that just makes you human, O,” she then leaned over to face Raven, “That was hot. I was sure you were going to melt into a pile of nothing.”

Raven shook her head in disbelief of what just happened, “I need another drink, I can’t believe it’s over already.”

Clarke gladly popped another bottle open, the trio having finished off the first one while Raven was getting her dance, then turned to Lexa, “Ready for yours?”

Just then, the door opened and the four girls were greeted by Clarke’s so-called doppelganger. Everyone’s eyes nearly went wide: Lexa’s with excitement, Raven’s and Octavia’s with disbelief, and Clarke’s with a sharp pang of jealousy, especially given Lexa’s current state.

Clarke’s mind was going into overdrive. Her first thought: she didn’t want Lexa getting a dance from that girl. Her second: does this mean she had feelings for Lexa? Her third: she was going to need a lot more to drink to get through this. She chugged what was in her glass and filled it up again, nearly drinking half of it in a gulp, before turning to Lexa and motioning for her to finish what was in hers so she could give her a quick refill before her dance started. Lexa raised a brow at Clarke’s antics, but obliged and downed the liquid in her glass before walking to greet the dancer.

“Hi, there,” the blonde smiled, “I’m Amelia. Glad I got paired up with you,” Amelia winked before she continued, “A few formalities before we start. Still okay with a surprise song? And are you okay with some PG-13 touching on my end? Rules are you can’t touch back, though.”

Lexa’s mouth fell into a lopsided smile, a product of her drunken state and the immaculate woman standing in front of her, “Lexa, and I am more than glad. Any song that makes you happy will make me happier. Please do, and know that even though I won’t, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to.”

“Fuck this,” Clarke snarled under her breath as Lexa took a seat and Amelia left the room, likely to put a song on for her performance.

Lexa’s head fell to the ground in disbelief of what was about to happen, her hand over her forehead, thumb rubbing one temple, index finger the other, trying to snap herself into less of a drunken mess so she could do her best to be fully aware of the dance she was about to receive. With her hand still covering most of the top of her face, she didn’t have time to notice Clarke getting up from her seat and making her way to the double doors.

“Holy shit,” Raven whispered to Octavia, “she’s so jealous that she’s not going to sit here to watch?”

Octavia shrugged and shook her head, “I don’t know, Rae. All I know is that this is definitely a show not to be missed.”

Amelia re-entered the room and was surprised to find Clarke standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. Clarke looked the girl straight in the eye before she whispered, “Change of plans. You’re not doing this one, but you can still keep your tip.”

Amelia saw the fire in Clarke’s eyes and looked over her shoulder to see Lexa with her head still down, not aware of what was happening behind her. She shrugged as she took the crisp $50 bill from Clarke’s hand and walked back out the door, “Damn, this was going to be a fun one, too.”

Clarke turned around as the door shut, Lexa’s head was still down and her two friends were staring at her with their mouths agape. Octavia turned both palms in the air and widened her eyes.

Clarke shrugged in response, and just then, the music came on.

Of fucking course. Pop. Top 40s. “Slow Hands” by Niall Horan, former member of One Direction. Everything Lexa had previously stated to hate.

Lexa finally sat up straight in her chair and laughed to herself about the song playing, looking straight ahead to find Clarke’s eyes to chuckle about the conversation they previously had. However, all she was met with were Raven and Octavia’s stares of disbelief - likely a product of Amelia standing behind her, ready to start her dance. Clarke had probably walked out for something, but she made a mental note to tell her about the pop song that was drumming up through the speakers.

_We should take this back to my place_  
_That's what she said right to my face_  
_‘Cause I want you bad_  
_Yeah, I want you, baby_

Lexa felt hands on both of her shoulders before a finger lightly traced its way across her shoulder blade and up her neck, sending shivers up and down her spine.

_I've been thinking 'bout it all day_  
_And I hope you feel the same way, yeah_  
_'Cause I want you bad_  
_Yeah, I want you, baby_

The finger found its way up into her hair and toyed at the bun on top of her head. With a gentle swoop, her hair was released, letting brown waves come crashing down over her shoulders. A hand swept them to one side, exactly how Lexa had worn it earlier.

_Slow, slow hands_  
_Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry_  
_No, no chance_  
_That I'm leaving here without you on me_  
_I, I know_  
_Yeah, I already know that there ain't no stoppin'_  
_Your plans and those_  
_Slow hands_  
_Slow hands_

Still standing behind her, Clarke traced both of her hands down Lexa’s neck and back across her shoulder blades, not stopping, making her way down both arms to grab Lexa’s hands. She raised Lexa’s arms and guided the brunette’s hands to her own arms, urging the girl to run her beautiful, long fingers along her own soft skin.

_I just wanna take my time_  
_We could do this, baby, all night, yeah_  
_'Cause I want you bad_  
_Yeah, I want you, baby_

Clarke knew that she’d have to finally make her presence known. Her heart was racing, it was nearly ready to burst out of her chest. There was no turning back from where she was, but thankfully because of her liquid courage, she slowly made her way to reveal herself to the brunette seated in the chair.

She was finally about to be face-to-face with Lexa and was absolutely terrified to see what the girl’s reaction would be. When blue eyes met green, she noticed that Lexa’s seemed darker than usual, they were now the shade of a deep emerald. The brunette’s eyes widened as they scanned all of Clarke, taking in the sight of the blonde in front of her. Clarke’s eyes seemed to be filled with so many things: want and worry, hunger and apprehensiveness.

Lexa finally raised her chin in the air and pulled her lips into a mischievous smirk.

_Slow, slow hands_  
_Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry_  
_No, no chance_  
_That I'm leaving here without you on me_  
_I, I know_  
_Yeah, I already know that there ain't no stoppin'_  
_Your plans and those_  
_Slow hands_

Clarke returned the smirk, taking it as a sign to continue. She turned her back to Lexa and started to sway her hips to the music, the back of her legs brushing to the front of the brunette’s. With closed eyes, she slowly raised her own arms over her head, feeling the music and letting the beat course through her body. She pressed deeper onto Lexa, knowing her whole body was getting closer and closer to the front of the other girl’s.

_Fingertips puttin' on a show_  
_Got me now and I can't say no_  
_Wanna be with you all alone_  
_Take me home, take me home_  
_Fingertips puttin' on a show_  
_Can't you tell that I want you, baby, yeah_

Hips still swaying, she turned around to face Lexa once again. Their eyes were locked and their smiles matched - grins getting larger and larger. What Clarke didn’t know was that Lexa’s heart was racing just as fast as her own. Clarke let her eyes wander and was consumed by every bit of the girl before her. Perfect lips, the most defined jawline she had ever seen, sharp clavicles peeking behind the black straps of her jumper, and exquisite hands dangling near the sides of the chair, not knowing what to do with themselves. At that exact moment, Clarke was ecstatic that Lexa was wearing a jumpsuit.

_Slow hands_  
_Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry_  
_No, no chance_  
_That I'm leaving here without you on me_  
_I, I know_  
_Yeah, I already know that there ain't no stoppin'_  
_Slow hands_  
_Like sweat dripping down our dirty laundry_  
_No, no chance_  
_That I'm leaving here without you on me_  
_I, I know_  
_Yeah, I already know that there ain't no stoppin'_  
_Your plans and those slow hands_

Clarke’s hands wandered to each of Lexa’s thighs, slowly spreading her legs so she could get closer to the girl. The move was returned with a small gasp from the brunette, followed by the girl biting her bottom lip. Clarke was still a little nervous by the whole thing, but with every positive reaction she was receiving, her confidence grew and grew. She continued dancing, moving closer and closer into Lexa. She bent down to reach the other girl’s hands before taking them into her own. She then brought them up to her sides, using her own hands to guide Lexa’s up and down her body as she continued to sway to the music, now grinding into the brunette’s core.

She looked to the girl’s face, making sure she still hadn’t crossed a line she shouldn’t have, and was met with the brunette trying to conceal a huge grin by still biting onto her bottom lip so hard that it was surprising she hadn’t broken skin yet. Clarke couldn’t help but widen her smile at the reaction she was causing onto the other girl. The song was nearing its end and she carefully placed Lexa’s hands back down to the sides of the chair before bending closer to the brunette’s face.

_Your slow hands_  
_Ooh, slow hands_

The music ended just as Clarke’s lips were mere millimeters from Lexa’s ear, “Do you want to get out of here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOO, never thought in my life I'd ever write anything being set in a strip club.... what'd y'all think?


	7. Nightcap in My Room?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been thinking about this update for SO. LONG. So happy I had time to write this chapter out before the weekend kicked off. I hope you guys are enjoying where this story is going! As always, thank you for reading and for all the kudos and comments. :)
> 
> Sorry for any typos!

The show Clarke put on had left everyone in the room speechless. Octavia and Raven still sat with their mouths agape as the blonde leaned in closer to Lexa, whispering something neither of them could decipher. When they saw the two start to head out of the room, they realized their time in the Trishana Room was probably over.

Raven nudged the shorter girl as they followed Clarke and Lexa out, “No dance for you tonight, huh?”

Octavia looked to her friend and shrugged, “I don’t think anything could top the show Griff just put on.”

“When can we start teasing her about that?” Raven laughed, earning a playful slap on the arm from her friend.

Octavia eyed Clarke and Lexa in the distance, realizing the two had walked past the table their group was sitting at, and heading towards the front door, “Immediately, please. But I think for now, we don’t tell anyone what we just saw.”

Raven rolled her eyes, “Obviously, O. I’m not ready for the wrath of Clarke or the Commander. Let them get their groove on first, then the teasing can commence.”

\---

“Shit, didn’t you tell Niylah to meet us here?” Lexa asked, opening the door to the cab for Clarke to step in.

Clarke looked up from her seat and her face fell into an offended scowl, “Are you seriously asking me about a girl you were flirting with earlier, right after I gave you a lap dance?”

Lexa rolled her eyes and motioned for Clarke to scoot in to make room for her, “I didn’t mean it like that. I was just wondering if she would be fine with you bailing without hanging out with her.”

Clarke shrugged before mumbling something under her breath.

“What was that?” Lexa asked, turning to face Clarke.

Clarke shifted her body so she was totally facing the girl next to her, “I said, ‘Wouldn’t be the first time.’”

“Oh?” Lexa asked with a raised brow, curious as to what Clarke was getting at.

Clarke sighed, not wanting to have to tell the story, but knew she would have to, “It was a long time ago,” she started, “We used to hook up.”

If it was at all possible, Lexa’s brow raised so much higher that it seemed ready to launch off her face. She nodded slowly, a sign for Clarke to continue telling her the story.

“It was before we worked together. I was at a conference out here for the industry and she was working one of the booths. I get a little flirty when I drink, if you couldn’t tell. Anyway, one thing lead to another and we met up afterwards. It was casual and when I realized she wanted more than I did, I kind of ghosted. I’d sneak out of places when she’d be with our group because I didn’t want to deal with it. So yeah, wouldn’t be the first time.”

Lexa was still slowly nodding, “I see.”

“It was a long time ago and we’re both way past it. And not for nothing, but I don’t owe you any explanations of previous partners. This was a courtesy, since you asked,” Clarke huffed.

Lexa smirked at the annoyance Clarke was wearing, “And if I asked about your past with Finn?”

Clarke shook her head, “No past, no present, no future.”

“That’s not what it looked like all night,” Lexa exhaled.

Clarke rolled her eyes, “Are you going to take my word for it, or are you going to let his sleaziness make you believe otherwise?”

“Whatever you say, Clarke,” Lexa finally let out.

The brunette felt a hand on her leg before the blonde started to speak up again, “Jealousy doesn’t suit you, Commander. Plus, it wasn’t either of them that got a private show tonight.”

Lexa licked her lips at the thought. Images flooding her mind of Clarke tracing her fingers on her bare skin, of Clarke dancing against her, of Clarke parting her legs to be able to dance closer to her.

A warm breath at her ear shook her out of her own thoughts, realizing Clarke was pressed closely against her side, “We’re here,” the car must have stopped at some point, “Nightcap in my room? I have a bottle of that Cab Sauv you like.”

Lexa smiled before opening the door, letting herself out, then reaching a hand down to help Clarke out of the car, “Works for me.”

Lexa stepped aside to let Clarke lead the way back into the hotel. In Clarke’s mind, the gesture made Lexa seem chivalrous. In Lexa’s mind, it just meant she would be getting a nice view in front of her. She may have had a bit too much to drink during the night, but the Commander always had her head on straight.

She caught up to Clarke with just enough time to open the door for the blonde. Once they were both inside, Lexa unconsciously slipped an arm around Clarke’s waist, pulling her towards the elevator.

“Impatient, much?” Clarke asked, raising a brow.

Lexa smirked at the remark, “I like to make an efficient use of my time, Clarke. Plus, there’s a bottle of wine that I’m more than eager to get my hands on.”

The corners of Clarke’s mouth raised as she replied, “And is that the only thing you’re more than eager to get your hands-”

“Clarke, Lexa! Over here!”

Lexa’s arm dropped from being snaked around the blonde as soon as she heard the voice. Both women immediately tensed up and stood deadly still.

Lexa was the first to turn to where the voice came from, “Titus, what are you still doing up?”

The man was making his way over to them, whiskey glass in hand, “I ran into Thelonius Jaha from the winery at the bar,” he turned his attention to the blonde, “I know you know him, but Lexa hasn’t had the chance to meet him just yet. Will you two join us for a nightcap at the bar down here?”

Clarke sighed before plastering a fake smile on her face, “That sounds lovely, Titus. Lexa and I were just saying how we could have one more before we turned in.”

Titus lead the two to where he and Thelonius had been perched at the bar. The older man looked up and his eyes immediately beamed at the sight of the blonde. He stood and opened his arms, ready to give her the biggest embrace, “Griffin, it’s so good to see you back here. You have no idea how much your presence has been missed.”

The girl reciprocated the show of affection, “It’s good to be home, Jaha. This was a pleasant surprise, what brings you to our hotel bar in the wee hours of the night?”

“Well,” the man laughed, “Titus called me earlier when he realized you were taking the team to City of Lights and asked if I wanted to grab a drink with him so he had a reason not to,” he turned to Titus, “How did you word it? Watch your team fraternize with each other?”

The group chuckled at the joke, and thankfully Clarke and Lexa were the only ones that noticed the hint of pink burning at their cheeks.

The man then turned to Lexa with his hand extended, “And you must be Lexa Woods. I’ve heard a lot about you and I’m extremely pleased to have you on the business, as well as host you here in Napa this week.”

Lexa feigned a smile, still annoyed that their plans got sidetracked, “Likewise, sir. I’m so happy to be here. It’s been a great day so far.”

He nodded, “I’m sure Clarke’s been showing you the ropes?”

“Oh,” Lexa smirked, “she has definitely made sure to. She’s done a great job at showing me a good time. It’s been a very hands-on experience, to say the least.”

Clarke nearly choked on air at the brunette’s comment before immediately chiming in, “I made Lexa host a sampling at an off-premise account. She took it like a champ and definitely helped make the store so many more sales tonight than they probably anticipated.”

The smirk hadn’t left Lexa’s face, “It’s true. When I found out we were going to some on-premise accounts, I was hoping I could retaliate and put Clarke to work, but then-”

“-But then she realized where we were going and how wildly inappropriate that would be. Right, Lexa?” Clarke jumped in.

The exchange earned laughs from both Titus and Jaha before Titus spoke up, “With some of the people we work with, I wouldn’t be surprised if something lead to another in a place like that after all the drinking that had happened today, but these two,” he motioned between the two girls as he looked to Jaha, “these two are my shining stars. I know I can trust them to be the only responsible ones. Look at them, they’re already home early, probably before the debauchery could even start.”

Clarke leaned in towards Lexa, her breath smelling faintly of all the drinks she had consumed, likely the reason for her bout of forwardness towards this whole situation, “Little does he know,” earning a jab in her side from the brunette.

Lexa spoke up, hoping the men didn’t hear Clarke’s comment, “Titus, I hardly consider 1AM to be early, but shall we have that drink so the two of us can get our beauty rest? We’ll need it for the day ahead of us tomorrow, I’m sure.”

“I’ve ordered a round of Azgeda 18, I hope that suits everyone,” Jaha offered.

Lexa plastered a fake smile on her face, her insides twisting at the thought of mixing something else into everything else she drank tonight, “Sounds perfect. Thanks so much.”

\---

One drink led to two, which led to the four closing the hotel bar.

“My cab just pulled up, but I’ll see you all bright and early tomorrow. Well, I guess today, right?” Jaha joked, earning faint smiles from the two girls.

After the pair said their goodnights, Titus stepped aside to walk Jaha towards the main entrance of the hotel.

“So,” Lexa leaned in closer to Clarke, whispering even though no one was within earshot, “how about that bottle of wine?”

Clarke smirked as she raised a brow, “Still up for that?”

“I’ve been looking forward to it every since we walked in,” Lexa shrugged.

“The wine?” Clarke teased.

Lexa looked to the blonde and winked, “Everything.”

They finally made their escape to the elevator, pressing the number nine where Clarke’s room was settled. The tension in the elevator was as thick as it could be. It had been more than an hour since their plans had gotten derailed, but it was apparent that neither of them would let the night’s speed bump get in the way of their end goal.

Lexa stepped forward, raising her arms to Clarke’s sides with every intention of pulling the blonde closer to her, to finally bridge the gap she had been wanting to fill ever since she realized it was Clarke dancing for her earlier. Clarke smiled, knowing exactly what Lexa was about to do.

The elevator doors were starting to close and both girls took one more step towards each other before an arm appeared to halt the doors from closing, “Hold the elevator, please!”

The pair nearly jumped away from each other, winding up in opposite corners of the tiny vestibule.

“Titus,” Lexa let out.

“Sorry,” the man sighed, “I know how annoying that is, but these things seem to take ages,” he said as he motioned to the elevator he was stepping into.

“Not a problem at all,” Clarke exhaled, the frustration in her voice apparent to the brunette.

“Lexa,” Titus started, after pressing the button for the eleventh floor, “Have too much to drink tonight?”

Lexa furrowed her brow, “Pardon?”

“We’re both on the eleventh floor, right? You forgot to press the button,” the man laughed, retreating his finger from the button he had pushed.

“Ah,” Lexa sighed, “that last whiskey must have gotten to me. Thanks.”

The doors closed and the three silently rode up together, finally stopping at the ninth floor. Clarke took a step out and leaned against the door frame to prohibit the doors from trying to close. She looked to Titus and nodded in his direction, then turned to Lexa with a defeated smile, “So, this is goodnight.”

Lexa’s expression matched the blonde’s, “It appears that way. You do owe me some of that wine one of these nights, though.”

Clarke chuckled, “I’m well aware. Only ask me when I’ve had a few drinks in me already, though. Okay? That may be the only time I'll be nice enough to share. Goodnight, Commander.”

Lexa’s smile softened as she nodded, “Goodnight, Clarke.”

Titus, oblivious to the exchange right in front of him, happily waved Clarke off as she stepped away from the frame, finally allowing the doors to close, “She’s been such a great addition to the team. What do you think, Lexa?”

The brunette sighed, “She’s something else, that’s for sure.”

When the elevator finally reached their floor, Lexa and Titus exchanged their goodnights and headed to their respective rooms.

As soon as Lexa made it through the threshold of her suite, she closed the door and pressed her head against it. She replayed the whole day and night, every interaction with Clarke and thought about what her intention with her colleague was. She knew she was attracted to her, that was for damn sure. She also knew that all the drinking that they had done throughout the day had heightened that. What she didn’t know was what this all meant to the blonde.

She looked down to her phone and saw no new messages. Nothing from Clarke to affirm anything intentions or feelings, nothing from Clarke telling her to come back down to her room to pick up where they left off.

Lexa almost started typing out a message to the blonde, but stopped herself, not wanting to be the first one reaching out about the situation. Instead, she opened her text thread with Anya and began to type.

_LW: Ahn, I need to talk to you. Text me when you’re up._

She sauntered towards the bedroom, ridding her body of the jumpsuit she was wearing and slipping into something more appropriate for bed. As she headed to the bathroom to wash her face, she heard the ding of her phone.

Clarke.

Lexa sped to where she had plugged it in next to her bed to find a notification for a new message.

_AW: Everything okay?_

The brunette rolled her eyes. It was a little after 5AM in New York, way too early for her cousin that made a habit of sleeping in as late as she possibly could.

_LW: Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you. Everything’s fine. Just wanted to tell you about the night._  
_AW: Are you drunk still? What is it, like 2AM?_  
_LW: Sobering up, and yeah, 2AM._  
_AW: Glad you’re okay, but I’m a little incapacitated at the moment._  
_LW: What are you doing up at 5?_  
_AW: Rugby game._  
_LW: What? It’s 5._  
_AW: It’s late morning in England. Can’t talk. Will text when game is over._  
_LW: Ahn, come on._  
_LW: Seriously, Ahn??_  
_LW: Anya!_  
_AW: Talk later, night._  
_LW: You are absolutely insufferable._

Lexa rolled her eyes and set her phone back down before retreated to the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

As she dried her freshly washed face with one of the softest towels imaginable, she heard the ding of her phone again. It must have been a commercial break, but she was now too tired to stay up and explain everything to her cousin. She looked at the clock on her nightstand and grimaced, knowing she would have to be up in just a few hours. Especially knowing she would have to face Clarke.

She tucked herself into bed and grabbed her phone to type out a reply to her cousin, letting her know she’d just talk to her during some downtime while at the vineyard and winery later on. She unlocked the screen and her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Two messages from Clarke Griffin. The first, a photo of Clarke’s legs as she laid in her bed, over the covers, wearing presumably one of the white bathrobes from the hotel. A bottle of Trishana Cabernet Sauvignon was nestled up against the side of her leg. The second, a message.

_CW: It’ll be worth the wait, Lex. See you in the morning._

Lexa stared at her phone in shock, before setting it back on her nightstand. Guess she knew where Clarke’s head was at after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do y'all think the next day is going to bring for our little Clexa?!


	8. Maybe You Two Should Have Kept the Show to Yourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm honestly not sure how this update happened so fast. I've had the idea in my head for a while now (for this part and the next few) and had been writing in bits and pieces, and magically here we are. I hope you enjoy this next bit!
> 
> As always, thank you guys for reading and for all the comments and kudos. Means a lot. :) AND sorry for any typos here, didn't have anyone proof it.
> 
> Cheers!  
> L

The aftermath of the previous night swirled within Lexa’s head. How a simple mistake of drinking too much and mixing way too many things could have the effect of feeling like she was hit with a bus going 60mph never made sense to her. She laid in bed a few minutes longer than she anticipated, trying to get her bearings and trying to piece together what exactly happened the night before.

Clarke sent her a photo and text before she had gone to bed.

She nearly knocked over the glass of water she had smartly perched on her nightstand before she had fallen asleep, her arm then hand flailing looking for the device.

Three new messages.

She swiped to unlock her phone and saw the little red notification nestled stop her texting app. She took a deep breath before she clicked them open to preview how she would imagine the rest of her day, let alone the rest of this trip, was going to go.

_AW: Okay_   
_AW: You have my attention now._   
_AW: What was so important about your night that you felt the need to text me about at 2AM, kid?_

Fucking Anya. Lexa rolled her eyes and clicked out of their text thread, going into Clarke’s to reread the message from the night prior.

_CW: It’ll be worth the wait, Lex. See you in the morning._

Firstly, the blonde had never called her “Lex.” In fact, no one ever did. This had to have been the cause of Clarke having too much to drink, similar to herself. Secondly, what was the blonde insinuation with the photo of her legs stretching out from the white cloth of the hotel robe, which now that Lexa had sobered up, she noticed was sitting rather high up on the other girl’s thighs.

She opted to shower, not having the energy to talk to her cousin at the moment, not wanting to recount the night that led to her feeling the way she did. Her hangover had the best of her, that was for sure. The shower lasted much longer than expected, but with the way the stream of water felt as if it was massaging her aching head, she deemed it a reasonable excuse.

On the desk of the bedroom, she found the itinerary for the day, sighing at the long hours ahead. The dress for the day was set to casual, which she was extremely thankful for. She threw on a pair of black jeans and a simple top, when a knock at the door caused her to jump.

“Commander, you up yet?” she heard beaming through the door in the living room.

Knowing exactly who it was, she made her way to greet her morning guest, “Checking up on me, Linc?”

“Well,” he smirked, “being that you disappeared with no trace last night, I felt it was my civic duty to make sure you were alright.”

She smiled as she shook her head and stepped aside to let the main gain entrance to the suite.

“Holy shit,” he started, “Griffin put you up in the palace, huh?”

Lexa looked around and shrugged, “Apparently so, but not sure why.” She made her way to the living room table, grabbing something and walking back to him and placing it in his hand, “In case you feel the need to check up on me again.”

He laughed as he slid the room key into his wallet next to his own, “To be fair, I called three times.”

“I was in the shower and getting ready,” Lexa started, as she moved towards the bedroom to grab her phone and bag, “Should we head down for the breakfast thing?”

“Sure,” he nodded, “but are you going to tell me where you disappeared off to last night?”

Lexa turned to face her friend and raised a brow, “You’re hoping for something juicy, aren’t you?”

“I mean,” he smirked, “Clarke nearly yanked you out the front door.”

“We were rushing,” the brunette shrugged, “we got back to the hotel and had drinks with Titus and Thelonius Jaha, who you’ll meet today.”

The man had a perplexed look on his face, “You were both wasted, fresh from private lap dances, and your instinct was to leave the fun strip club and come back to the hotel bar to have drinks with your boss and another colleague?”

“This is still a work trip, Linc.”

His face read of all signs of disbelief, “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“You can ask Titus yourself if you want,” she challenged, “now is this interrogation over? Because I’m starving and I need some coffee to make this headache go away.”

Lincoln was still looking at her, trying to see if she was hiding something, but stepped out of the way before motioning for her to head to the door, “After you, Commander.”

\---

Green eyes scanned the room, finally landing on a large table seating the bulk of their team members. Sunglasses were sitting on some of the heads at the table, while others had their faces buried into their hands while staring down at plates full of breakfast goodies: the clear indication of a long night out.

The pair headed to the table, Lincoln leading the way and darting to a seat directly next to Octavia’s, “Someone looks a little tired this morning,” he joked.

She huffed as she turned to face him, “Not really the best greeting for someone you’re trying to woo, Lincoln.”

“I’m a man of truth,” he shrugged, “at least you know I’ll never lie to you.”

The girl rolled her eyes before leaning over to find Lexa, who was sitting at the other side of the man, “What happened to you last night? You disappeared pretty quickly.”

Lexa turned to face the girl, “As I was telling your prospective suitor here,” she started, making sure her voice was low enough so no one else heard what she was implying, “Clarke and I came back and had a drink with Titus and Thelonius Jaha before we called it a night.”

“You guys actually came back here to have a work discussion?” Octavia asked, her face contorted with confusion.

Lexa nodded as she shrugged and turned to find someone to order a coffee from.

Lincoln shook his head at his friend, “All work and no play makes the Commander a dull girl.”

“Are you actually comparing Lexa to a character from a horror movie?” a voice was heard approaching the table.

The group turned around to find Clarke with a paper cup in each hand. The blonde came closer and nonchalantly set one in front of Lexa before taking the seat next to Octavia.

“I was just making a statement,” he shrugged, before turning to the cup in front of Lexa, “no coffee for the rest of us?”

Clarke finally made eye contact with the green eyes across the table, “I assumed you wanted a flat white? The coffee parlour upstairs makes a better one than the restaurant.”

Lexa slowly nodded as she took a sip, “Uh, yeah. Thanks.”

The table fell silent as more people joined, filling up the space that was meant as the starting point for the day.

“So,” Octavia finally broke the silence, “if this is any indication of how the day’s going to go, we’re going to have a problem.”

Finn, who had not-so-subtly found a seat next to Clarke, chimed, “It’s going to be a great day. Right, Griff?” he asked, nudging Clarke’s side.

Clarke took a sip of her coffee, making sure not to physically react to Finn’s gesture, before straightening herself up in her chair and throwing herself into work mode, “Actually, it will be a great day. There’s a lot in store for us, and I know some people are tired from the long account visits we had yesterday, but everyone needs to have a little more coffee to wake up and get excited. The shuttle will be leaving here in thirty minutes to bring us to the winery for a tour of the grounds.”

Lexa looked up, surprised to hear the chirpy tone to the blonde’s voice, when her eyes landed on Finn longingly looking at Clarke. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the sight as she slumped back down into her chair, bringing her coffee to her mouth in hopes the caffeine would help with the stinging feeling in her head. How Clarke wasn’t just as hungover as her was a mystery, but the biggest mystery of all was if Clarke was even in the slightest thinking about what almost happened between them the night prior.

Before she even realized what she was doing, Lexa grabbed her coffee as she stood up and pushed her chair in, “Clarke?” she asked.

The blonde’s eyes darted up as fast as her heart rate increased, “Yes?”

“Is the bus already here?” Lexa asked, looking between the table everyone was seated at and the door from the restaurant that led back to the hotel’s main lobby.

Clarke nodded as her heart was ready to beat out of her chest, wondering if Lexa was going to ask her to excuse herself to talk about the night prior, “It’s parked in the front, our driver sent me a message a few minutes ago when he arrived.”

“Great, thank you.” Lexa answered with no emotion in her face, before leaving to exit the restaurant. The group noticed that as she was walking out, she started rapidly typing at her work phone.

“What’s with Commander Grumpy Pants?” Finn asked, nudging Clarke’s side again.

Raven smirked at Clarke from across the table, she had sat down just moments before Lexa made her departure, “Yeah, Griff. Any idea what’s gotten into her?”

“Nothing’s gotten into her, Rae,” Clarke huffed, emphasizing her friend’s name in her reply and forgetting the two had an audience to their conversation.

Finn looked between the two, “Woah, Griff. Looks like Commander Grumpy Pants is starting to rub off on you.”

Thankfully, Clarke was the only one at the table that noticed the grins both Octavia and Raven were wearing at the man’s comment.

“I’m going to go check in with the driver,” Clarke said as she got up, grabbing her coffee and backpack, following right in Lexa’s footsteps.

Finn, confused as always, watched Clarke walk out of the restaurant, “Was it something I said?”

“Man,” Lincoln chuckled, “I’ve only known you for a day and I’m fairly certain it’s always something you say.”

\---

As Clarke approached the bus, she saw the driver standing outside of it, leaning on the side of the vehicle next to the open door, “I’m not sure if you want to go in there right now.”

Wide-eyed, Clarked looked to him, “Is everything okay in there?”

The man shrugged as he lit a cigarette, “I just feel bad for whoever is on the receiving end of that phone call.”

Clarke nodded as she heard Lexa’s voice getting a bit louder as she made her way onto the party bus.

“I don’t care about a strike,” Lexa yelled into her phone, “I care that I am now dealing with over thirty stores that have not received their shipments of a brand new product we are in the midst of launching that we had put over three million advertising dollars behind, all because you are a fucking moron that can’t keep your own fucking employees happy.”

Clarke stood in the doorway, watching the brunette pace back and forth flailing her arms around as she continued the seemingly one-sided conversation she was holding with who Clarke presumed to be one of their sales distributors.

“If I don’t receive a call back from you in under ten minutes, I can promise you that you will never be doing business with 13 Clans, let alone any other major liquor company in this country ever again. Fix your shit, Frank.”

Clarke’s presence was still unknown to the brunette, who made her way to a seat where her laptop was thrown onto.

Clarke finally cleared her throat, letting herself be known, “The Commander strikes again?” she raised a brow, waiting for Lexa to look in her direction.

However, Lexa didn’t look up, “I don’t have time right now, Clarke.”

Suddenly feeling like she was invading her space, Clarke’s grin quickly turned into a frown as she replied to the brunette, “Sorry, I-”

“Was there something in particular you needed?” Lexa asked, still not looking up at the girl.

“Nothing at all, Lexa,” Clarke said, turning around and getting ready to step off the bus.

Hearing the click of Clarke’s foot stepping away, Lexa finally looked up, “Wait. I’m sorry, I’m just dealing with a catastrophe at the moment and if it’s not cleared up before everyone waltzes onto this bus, I’m going to have to skip out on today. I didn’t mean to lash out at you.”

“Right. Well, I’ll just leave you to it, then,” Clarke nodded as she walked off the bus.

Lexa watched the girl leave as she kicked herself for getting so worked up about everything and taking it out on her, “Fuck,” she mumbled under her breathe.

She took out her phone, ready to type a message out to the blonde.

_LW: I’m sorry. Really._

She sat her phone down on the empty seat next to her, bringing her computer to her lap to sift through emails, hoping for a resolution to this morning’s massive hiccup to appear in her inbox. As she read through email after email, none of the proposed half-assed solutions to the massive problem were making her feel any better.

The ding of her cell phone jostled her back into reality.

_AW: Are you going to tell me or what, kid?_

Lexa groaned as she typed out her response.

_LW: Can you please stop calling me that, Ahn?_   
_AW: Can you please tell me whatever it was that you felt so compelled to at 2AM then?_   
_LW: Forget about it, it was nothing. Dealing with a work crisis now._   
_AW: So then it has nothing to do with the lap dance Clarke gave you?_

Lexa’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she read the message.

_LW: How the fuck_   
_AW: Rae. We text. Jealous?_   
_LW: That wasn’t for anyone to tell, and plus it was just a stupid drunken thing that didn’t mean anything, we were all just having fun._   
_AW: If it wasn’t for anyone to tell, maybe you two should have kept the show to yourselves, you idiot._

Lexa rolled her eyes before continuing to type out her message.

_LW: Can we please just talk later, I really am dealing with a crisis._   
_AW: A big hopeless gay crisis because the girl you want to get it on with gave you a semi-private show and you’re incapable of showing any kind of emotions?_   
_LW: I hate you. Talk later._

\---

“Thanks for dealing with the issue earlier,” Titus offered to Lexa as he stepped onto the party bus, following the rest of the team who had migrated from the hotel restaurant, “Has everything been resolved?”

Lexa nodded, “We’re about ninety percent of the way there, sir. We’ve switched contracts in that division to a different distributor. Legal has approved the partnerships and the new distributor is working to get shipments out by end of day. We just need to make sure it actually happens.”

“For someone in the Marketing department, you’re working on a whole lot of logistics, Lexa,” Finn smirked as he approached the woman.

“Well,” she said as she stood up, “my marketing campaigns mean nothing if there is no product on shelves, Finn. If I have to be the one to expedite the process, then so be it, but I refuse to put another dollar into advertising a product that can’t be found.”

Titus smiled as he patted the brunette’s shoulder, “And that’s why they call her the Commander. I, for one, love that she gets involved with helping other departments. She’s right, you know. What good is advertising if a consumer can’t obtain the product? She’s priming herself for greatness.”

Clarke stepped forward and looked between the three with a raised brow, “I see the issue has been resolved, Lexa?”

“For the most part,” the brunette shrugged, “Looks like I’ll be joining everyone today after all.”

Clarke offered a small smile and nodded before she walked to the front to take an empty seat, Finn swiftly following her, sitting himself down right next to her.

He brushed his unkempt hair to the side of his head, “So, are we going to make mimosas, or what? Hair of the dog never hurt anyone, right?”

Raven’s hand made its way to Finn’s shoulder from behind him, “How about you start on those mimosas so we can steal our boss away for a moment?”

He looked to Clarke before getting up, “Time for the fun to begin.” As he walked towards the bucket of chilled prosecco, he turned to everyone on the bus and exclaimed, “Who’s ready to have some fun?”

Clarke rolled her eyes at his antics, little did she know Lexa, who was seated as far away from the bonde as possible, had the same exact reaction.

Raven and Octavia sat down on both sides of Clarke. The blonde mistakenly assumed they wanted to chat about the run of show for the day, “What’s up, guys? I think we’re all set with the agenda for today, so there’s nothing to be worried about. Finn actually did a good job for once.”

“Fuck the agenda,” Raven snorted, “what the hell was that thing you pulled last night?”

“Griff, really. What the hell was that?” Octavia chimed in.

“It was me being way too drunk, that’s all,” Clarke rolled her eyes. “Nothing happened,” she continued, “and nothing is going to happen, so can you both please drop it and never speak of it again? Not to me, not to Lexa, and not to anyone else.”

Raven shifted uncomfortably in her seat at the blonde’s minor outburst, “About that…”

“Raven, I will kill you,” Clarke said as she whipped her head to face her friend, “What did you do?”

“It’s not a big deal, Griff,” Raven offered.

“Yeah,” Octavia added, “She won’t say anything.”

“She?” Clarke asked, “Who did you talk to?”

“I meant to tell you, but Anya and I have been texting a bit here and there. I woke up to a text from her saying Lexa texted her at 2AM saying she needed to talk to her because something happened, but that she hadn’t heard from her since,” Raven sheepishly replied to her friend, “I assumed you guys were together and that’s why Lexa stopped answering her. All I told her was about the strip club, though. I swear.”

Clarke closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, her annoyance showing through to the pair seated on both sides of her, “I shouldn’t have drank that much. And I really shouldn’t have pulled that stunt, especially with either of you in the room.”

“Relax, Griff,” Octavia offered, as she squeezed Clarke’s shoulder, “I know you’re our boss, but you’re also one of our best friends. We respect you. We all do stupid shit when we drink too much, but we would never take something like last night and think that made you any lesser of a leader to us.”

“I’m really sorry I told Anya, Clarke,” Raven frowned, “I really am. It didn’t cross my mind that we’d all wake up today and things would actually be weird.”

Clarke shook her head, “It’s fine, Raven. Thanks for telling me. And thanks for that, O. I should talk to her and apologize.”

Before the pair knew it, Clarke was already standing and making her way to the other end of the bus. If anyone paid attention to the way she was walking, she looked to be a woman on a mission, not to be disturbed. Unfortunately for Clarke, Finn wasn’t one to take social cues well.

“Here ya go, Griff,” Finn said as he stepped in front of Clarke, causing the blonde to almost run into him, “one mimosa with a little extra prosecco. It’ll knock that hangover right out of you.”

Clarke shook her head and stepped to the side to make her way around him, “No thanks, Finn. I’m not drinking today.”

The man shrugged to no one in particular, “More for me, then.”

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of Lexa without a clue of what she wanted to say. The brunette felt a presence upon her, she felt that someone had now come into the small space she was trying to claim as her own.

Green eyes met blue, “Clarke.”

“Hi,” the blonde said, shuffling her feet around, “I think we need to-”

Before Clarke could get another word out, the bus halted to a stop, practically throwing her onto Lexa’s lap. As Lexa’s arms reached out to try and catch the girl, her laptop and phone went flying to the floor, leaving the pair with nothing else to do but laugh.

“Of course that would happen to me at this very moment,” Clarke huffed, bringing herself back up to her feet, “Sorry about that. And uh, thanks.”

Lexa smirked, “Always here to help, I suppose. What was it that you were saying?”

“Right,” Clarke shuffled her feet, a clear indication of how uncomfortable the girl was, “Yeah, just about yesterday. Well, last night. We should talk.”

Lexa nodded, “Yeah, we should.”

Clarke raised both brows, waiting to see if Lexa would kick of the conversation. When she realized the brunette was waiting for her to start, she sighed, “I’m sorry. It was wildly inappropriate of me to act that way.”

Lexa opened her mouth to reply, but before she could get a word out, Titus came up from behind Clarke, “Everyone’s gotten off the bus already. Jaha’s waiting for you outside, Clarke. Said you were today’s master of show?”

Another sigh escaped the blonde’s mouth, “Right. Let’s go, then. Lexa, can we finish this later?”

Lexa nodded slowly, understanding that Clarke was now apologizing for what happened. An apology meant that she didn’t mean for the dance, didn’t mean for the flirting. An apology meant that she likely regretted the entirety of the situation, “Sure, Clarke, but not sure if there is much else to say about it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe one day we can have a chapter where they don't fight / miscommunicate / seem like they dislike each other at all. Maybe.


	9. Do You Understand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slight trigger warning. It's a bit of some unreciprocated stuff. Message me on Tumblr (@cantgetoutofmyheda) if you have any questions about it.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading this story and many thanks for all the comments and kudos. Love reading what you guys have to say, so please keep it coming. I'm sure you'll see some references to your comments in any upcoming chapters. :)
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> -L
> 
> PS - Like with every other chapter, this hasn't been proofread. Apologies for any typos.
> 
> PPS - I think this may be the longest chapter of this story so far! Coming in at 7k words.

It was beautiful, more breathtaking than she could ever imagine. The second Lexa stepped off the bus, she took in the sight before her and didn’t want to close her eyes. Her life before this, before the merger, was filled with whiskey. It entailed barley fields on flat land in almost always rainy conditions. It entailed old barrel warehouses in buildings that resembled century-old barns. The sight currently before her? Rolling hills, filled with endless grape vines, buildings placed on top of all the hilltops with views overlooking the whole grounds, people leisurely walking around with glasses of wine, albeit it being well before noon, in their hands. It was a different kind of experience than what she was previously used to with the Azgeda Whiskey distillery visits, and she was actually glad she was there.

“Like what you see, Commander?” Lexa was jolted from her thoughts when she felt a nudge from a certain blonde, “My breath is always taken away when I come to this place.”

“Yeah,” Lexa nodded, “it’s stunning.”

Clarke smiled at her, “Jaha is going to do his welcome spiel that will probably take way longer than necessary, but then you’ll get to see the true beauty of this place.”

“Oh, is that right?” Lexa questioned, “What do you have up your sleeves for today, Griffin?”

The blonde smirked as she strutted away to the front of the group, likely in hopes to find Jaha, “Guess you’ll have to wait and see, tiger.”

“Ah, there she is,” Jaha said, clasping his hands together, “Clarke, join me and Finn up here, will you?”

She plastered on her work smile as she made her way to the front of the group and stood to one side of Jaha, making sure to be as far away from Finn as possible.

“Welcome, everyone,” Jaha smiled to the group of visitors, “I am so pleased and honored to be able to host you here at the Trishana Vineyard and Winery. With the help of your esteemed colleagues I have standing next to me, we have planned a grand day for all of you. We will be touring the grounds with our Master of Terroir who will be explaining the process of growing our grapes, our Master of Wine who will take us through the winemaking process, and our Master Sommelier who will take us through an extremely thorough tasting. I suggest that you all apply a bit of sunscreen because we’ll be outside for quite some time this morning. Clarke,” the man commanded attention to the blonde beside him, “will you take them through the agenda for the morning?”

“Most certainly,” the girl smiled before turning to the group, “Everyone, listen up. We’ve assigned everyone a ‘buddy’ to spend the morning with. We will be biking through the vineyards learning about all the grapes that go into making our Trishana products. The tour will end with a lunch picnic atop that hill over there,” Clarke paused to point out into the distance. “After lunch, we’ll head over to see how the wines are actually made and barreled, then will make our way back here for a formal tasting. I’m going to come around and let everyone know who they will be teamed up with today. If you have any questions, as always, please let me or someone on my team know.”

Everyone smiled and nodded, excited for the day ahead of them. People broke off into small groups of chatter, wondering who they would end up partnered with.

As the three in the front dismantled to go on their separate ways, Finn rushed to Clarke’s side to get her attention, “Hey, Griff. Please tell me we’re partnered up.”

The blonde rolled her eyes, “We’re partnering people that are familiar with the grounds with people that have never been here before, Finn. You know that.”

He gave her a pleading look, “Aw come on. I thought you missed me.”

“We’re working, Finn. And besides, I missed this place and all the people here, it wasn’t just you. One more peep out of you and trust that you’ll officially be moved to the list of people that irritate me,” Clarke snapped, as she made her way to Octavia and Raven.

“I wonder if he’ll ever leave you alone,” Raven nodded in the man’s direction as Clarke approached the pair.

“Probably not,” Octavia chimed in, “he flipped out last night when we all had realized you and Lexa had left the club.”

“He’s a child,” Clarke shook her head, “But now, back to business. Octavia, you’re with Lincoln. You’re welcome, by the way. Raven, can you pair up with Murphy and let Finn know that he has Jasper? Jaha and Titus will ride together, and I’ll take Lexa.”

“Of course you will,” Octavia smirked.

“Raven and Murphy seem to have become friends so I’m not splitting that up, which leaves me or Finn or Lexa,” Clarke pointed out. “Do you really think Lexa would like to endure a full day on a tandem bike with Finn? She would probably claw his eyes out by the end of the day if we did that.”

“Sure, sure, Griff,” Raven laughed, “tell yourself whatever you want.”

“Look,” Clarke started, “whatever happened last night was a mistake and nothing’s coming out of that, so just drop it please. I apologized and she said there was nothing left to say, so just drop it.”

“Wait,” Octavia jumped in, “why did you apologize?”

Clarke pulled her two friends to a quieter corner of the room and made sure her voice was stern, yet soft so that no one could overhear, “Because it was wildly inappropriate of me, O. We got drunk, I kicked a stripper out of the room and basically forced Lexa to feel me up while I was dancing on top of her. What don’t you understand about that being wildly inappropriate?”

Raven shook her head, “I don’t know, Griff. The look on her face didn’t make it seem like she thought anything was inappropriate. Girl wanted it.”

“Yeah, you two looked like you were both on the same page,” Octavia added in.

“The only people not on the same page are you two, so if you would just please grab your partners and start taking them to where the bikes are parked, that would be great,” Clarke huffed as she walked away from the pair.

\---

“Sorry to interrupt,” Clarke said, placing her hand on Lexa’s arm to grab her attention. The brunette was standing off to the side chatting with Lincoln, both of them clad with grinning faces, “We’re about to head into the vineyards, and by looking at this list, it seems like you’re stuck with me as a partner for the day.”

Lincoln raised a brow, “Aren’t you the one that made the list, Clarke?”

The blonde brushed him away with her hand, “Semantics, Lincoln. And you’re welcome, by the way. I’m sure you can assume who you’ve been paired up with?” She smiled as she nodded in Octavia’s direction.

The man boasted a toothy grin, “You’re the best.”

“So will the teasing now cease?” She asked with a raised brow.

He shrugged as he started to walk towards Octavia, “As long as you two stop giving me things to tease about.”

“Get out of here, Linc,” Lexa swatted at him before shoving him towards his bike partner. She turned to look at the blonde, who was smiling the softest of smiles, “So, bike buddies, huh?”

“Yup, hope you don’t mind. Also, hope you can ride a bike,” Clarke laughed.

Lexa shook her head, “Not at all, I’m glad to be stuck with you for the day. And of course I can ride a bike, Clarke.”

“Aw, the Commander is happy to be stuck with me. What an honor,” Clarke grinned. “When I made the list earlier, I figured we could use the time to talk since we’d have a bit of privacy, but I guess we got that out of the way.”

Lexa shuffled her feet, looking down to the ground before looking back up into Clarke’s crystal blues, “I suppose we could find some other things to talk about?”

“As long as you’re not talking to me about shipping logistics, activation planning, or budget allocations, I don’t care what we talk about,” Clarke smiled.

“Deal,” Lexa smiled, offering her hand for the blonde to shake.

“Come on,” Clarke tugged at Lexa’s hand, “let’s go grab ourselves a bike.”

The pair made their way to where the brand new tandem bikes were parked and picked out the only red one. Clarke rustled through a bin of helmets, finding ones that would fit them both and extended one to the brunette.

“No thanks, I’m good,” Lexa pushed the clunky piece of styrofoam and plastic away.

Clarke raised a brow, “Like to live life on the edge, Commander?”

“I don’t know who’s had that on their head and I also don’t want to have helmet hair,” Lexa shrugged.

“I’ll have you know,” Clarke started, “all of these are cleaned after they’ve been used. But if you’re not using one, neither am I,” the blonde smirked as she tossed hers back into the bin, following Lexa’s lead. “This only further solidifies my plan of being the last bike to leave, though. We can’t have people seeing us be bad examples without our protective headgear.”

Lexa looked to the girl with a confused glance, “Plan to be the last bike to leave? What do you have up your sleeve, Clarke?”

The blonde shrugged, “I’ve never ridden one of these things before. I’m not about to be in front of someone and bust my ass out there.”

Lexa looked to the bike, then to the girl, “If I get hurt on this little excursion, I’m going to kill you, Clarke.”

The blonde shrugged as she readied herself to mount the bike, “Not my fault I’ve never ridden one. Guess this trip is full of first time experiences for me, huh?” She smirked at the brunette who was wordlessly staring, “Come on, tiger. Let’s get this thing going.”

\---

She had to admit it, she was having fun. No, Lexa was having way more than fun. After a few minutes and a few close calls, the pair got the hang of riding the tandem bicycle together. The speakers attached to them boomed the voice of Nathan Miller, Trishana’s Master of Terroir. With every row of grapes they went through, he thoroughly explained what kind of wine each was harvested for and how to properly care for the crop.

To say it was a beautiful day would have been an understatement. The sun was shining bright and a light breeze kept the group from overheating while they biked around the grounds. With a mischievous smirk on her face, Clarke turned back to face Lexa, “Do you want to take a detour?”

Lexa looked ahead to the group that was already seeming to be leaving them behind, “Are we going to get in trouble?”

“Since when has the Commander been afraid of anything?” Clarke asked, the smirk never leaving her face.

The brunette scoffed, “I’d tell you to lead the way, but I already know that you’re going to.”

“Come on,” Clarke laughed, turning to face the field ahead of them. “We’re going to make a right here and then a left a few rows down. I know the best spot.”

The pair pedaled away, losing all sight of the group they started the day with. If it wasn’t for Clarke’s presence, Lexa would have thought she’d be lost just as if she were stuck in the middle of a corn maze.

Clarke raised her hand, signaling for the brunette to stop pedaling, and once she did, they were both able to hop off their means of transportation.

“This is my favorite place on this whole property, I used to hide out down here whenever I’d get overwhelmed with anything” Clarke said, taking a set on the ground next to a large vine. The plant had so many bunches of grapes that reached so far up that it created a means of shade for the two.

Lexa moved towards the blonde, taking a seat about an arm’s length from her, while taking in the view, “It is quite beautiful, Clarke. But why is it that you’ve let me infiltrate your hiding place?”

“I just missed it here,” the blonde shrugged, “and I guess I just wanted to share it with you. Show you how breathtaking this place could be.”

Lexa nodded, “I never doubted that it would be breathtaking. But nonetheless, thank you for showing me.”

The two fell into a comfortable silence, when Clarke changed her position, now laying down with her head closer to Lexa’s body, “Lay down with me so we can look at the clouds together.”

Without a word, Lexa complied. Her head was nearly touching Clarke’s as they laid facing opposite ways. She took a breath in before letting out, “Kind of reminds me of when I was a kid.”

Clarke chuckled, “I could only imagine what you were like as a child. All the kids running around in the dirt and you not wanting to get messy. You were probably the one watching over everyone making sure nothing went awry.”

“And you were probably the one jumping in mud piles, pulling in the kids like me so they wouldn’t miss out on the fun,” Lexa laughed back.

Even though the brunette couldn’t see her, Clarke nodded, “You’re right.”

“You are too,” Lexa smiled, her green eyes still plastered into the vastness of the clouds.

Clarke let out a content sigh, “Did you and Anya grow up together? I couldn’t imagine being as close to any of my cousins as you are with her. Seems nice.”

Now it was Lexa’s turn, nodding even though Clarke couldn’t see her, “Yeah, we did. My parents passed away when I was younger. Our dads were brothers, so after the accident, Anya’s parents took me in. I was old enough to know that we weren’t actually sisters, but growing up,” Lexa paused to take a breath, “But growing up, it just felt like we were. She’s not that much older than me, but I definitely did look up to her. Guess you can say I was the annoying little sister she never asked for.”

Instinctively, Clarke’s hand reached for the green-eyed beauty who was laying so close to her, “Lexa, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“You don’t have to say sorry, Clarke. It’s life and I’ve come to terms with it. And you wouldn’t have known because I never said anything,” Lexa said back. The brunette let out a small laugh, “I mean, I’m not sure if you’ve noticed by now, but I don’t really talk about many personal things. I guess it’s just not in my nature to let people in.”

Clarke squeezed the hand in hers, “Well, thank you for letting me in, even if it was just a sneak peek.”

Lexa wiggled her hand out of the blonde’s soft grasp and sat up, crossing her legs and placing her elbows on each thigh so she would be able to perch her chin into her palms and joked, “Anya would be so proud.”

Clarke looked up and sat mirrored to the brunette, “Want me to put a good word in? I’m sure I can manage to get her number from Raven. Which, might I add, seems a bit odd that they’ve gotten so close.”

“Yeah,” Lexa agreed. The brunette then turned to face Clarke, “How do you know that? Has Raven said anything?”

There was no hint of anger to the brunette’s voice, which Clarke was thankful for. Knowing Lexa could be hot and cold, she only hoped this wouldn’t set the girl off, “Actually, yeah. Rae told me she was texting Anya last night. I guess she was looking for you after you had sent her a message and didn’t hear back, so she texted Raven to see if everything was alright. Rae may have let the Trishana room incident slip out to her.”

Lexa raised a brow and had a smug grin plastered on her face, “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

Clarke shrugged as she turned to face her, “I’d prefer that instead of referring it to the night I did something to make you feel horribly uncomfortable.”

Lexa furrowed her brow, “Horribly uncomfortable?”

“Lexa,” Clarke started, “you ran away this morning at breakfast, you snapped at me on the bus before anyone else got on, and when I apologized you brushed me off like I was a babbling idiot, which I know I am, but that’s besides the point. So, yeah. I don’t know what else to take away from last night other than the fact that I made you horribly uncomfortable. I sent you an embarrassing photo accompanied by an embarrassing text that you didn’t respond to. A girl knows how to take a hint.”

“Anya was right,” Lexa said to herself, but loud enough for the blonde to hear.

Clarke’s face was covered with a perplexed look, “Right about what?”

Lexa sighed as she put her face in her hands, “She told me that I was incapable of showing emotions. I’m the idiot here. I’m sorry, Clarke. I guess I just didn’t see it from your point of view.”

“So I didn’t make you horribly uncomfortable?” the blonde asked.

Lexa peeled her face out of her hands and shook her head, “No, not in the slightest. I guess I should have responded to your text last night, but figured it didn’t warrant a reply. You said you’d see me in the morning,” she took a second to let out a quiet laugh, “I left breakfast this morning because I just didn’t know how to act around you after everything last night. I snapped at you because I was thoroughly pissed off at our distributor. I dismissed you when you apologized because I thought your apology meant that you wish the turn of events last night didn’t happen.”

Clarke finally had her ‘a-ha’ moment. She smiled, “The only thing I wish that didn’t happen last night was Titus Interruptuss ruining our plans. Twice.”

Lexa couldn’t help but let out a breathy laugh at the nickname, “And it all makes sense now, huh.”

“So, Commander. Tell me something,” Clarke smiled, “are we on the same page still?”

“That depends,” Lexa grinned, “Is there still a bottle of the vintage Cab Sauv on the table?”

Clarke rolled her eyes, “I thought I told you to ask me about that after I’ve had a few drinks in me.” The blonde earned raised brow from Lexa, then continued as she shrugged, “A little liquid courage never hurt anyone.”

“I’m going to take you up on that, then,” Lexa added.

Clarke rested her hand on top of Lexa’s for the second time that afternoon, “I hope you do.”

The only thing Lexa had on her mind was closing the gap between her and the blonde next to her. Now that their miscommunication had been cleared up, she knew that what she wanted to do would be welcomed. She took two seconds to make the decision and when she finally let herself be okay with it, her thought was interrupted by a persistent dinging sound coming from Clarke.

Of course. Of course she was yet again interrupted.

Clarke reached into her bag to take out her phone, “Shit, we’ve been out here for an hour.”

_RR: Griff, where’d you guys run off to? Well, bike off to?_  
_RR: Clarke it’s been 15 minutes, where the hell are ya?_  
_RR: 30 minutes?! Seriously? We’re up on the hill having lunch. Hurry the fuck up._  
_RR: You better be getting it on with Commander hot pants, you little shit, You’re lucky I love you. I told Titus that you guys got held up over an email and would meet us for the tasting._  
_RR: You’re seriously a little shit, you know that? O is consumed with Lincoln and I’m left surrounded by a bunch of people that I’d rather not be. You have 10 minutes to get here before I tell everyone about your Niall Horan fetish._

Clarke groaned as she typed back.

_CG: Relax!!! And no, nothing happened. We were talking and lost track of time. Thanks for covering, we’re on our way to the tasting room now. See you soon._

“Everything okay?” Lexa asked, reaching into her own bag to look at her phone.

_AW: Are you making out with Clarke right now?_

Lexa’s scoffed, “Unbelievable.”

“What is?” Clarke asked, standing up to ready herself to get back onto the bike, “By the way, we need to leave. Now.”

Lexa nodded as she stood up, “Nothing. Anya is just being Anya. Let me write her back really quick, then we can go,” earning a nod from Clarke.

_LW: No, but I could have been if you and Raven weren’t so completely unbearable._  
_LW: I can’t talk now, but just know you owe me an explanation of whatever it is that’s going on between you two._

Lexa shoved the phone back into her bag and placed a hand on the bike, “Shall we?”

\---

The two threw sloppily threw the bike to the side, next to all the other ones parked outside the building, before rushing in. The tasting was already well underway with the winery’s Master of Wine, Bekka Pramheda, at the front of the room. Clarke and Lexa tried to stealthily slip into the last two seats that the backmost table. Glancing around the room, gauging by the empty glasses in front of everyone, they were more than halfway through.

“Glad to see you both here,” Titus approached, pulling a seat to Lexa’s right, “Raven mentioned there was a bit of an issue to deal with. Has everything been settled?”

“Titus,” Clarke reached over Lexa to answer the man, “when has Lexa ever not been able to solve an issue?”

The man nodded and smiled, “Just glad to see you both working so well together. You’ve missed quite a bit, but I’m sure you can just sip and follow along.”

“I wasn’t planning on drinking today anyway, so I’m fine right now,” Lexa smiled.

Titus went back to his seat and Clarke turned to Lexa as she grabbed one of the glasses in front of her, “Speak for yourself, Commander.”

They sat through the little that was left of the session. Lexa trying to pay attention and actually learn about the products, Clarke sipping on the small portions of wine in front of her. To be fair, the woman had worked for the winery for so long, there wasn’t necessarily anything for her to learn.

When the tasting wrapped up, Octavia and Raven immediately bombarded the two latecomers.

“Where the hell were you two?” Raven asked, pulling a seat to Clarke’s side.

Clarke rolled her eyes as she took a sip of wine, “We were over by the Cab Sauv grapes. We were talking and just lost track of time.”

“Right,” Octavia said, eyeing her friend, then turning to Lexa, “So what’d you think of the vineyards? And what you saw of the tasting?”

“Everything here is stunning,” Lexa smiled, “I wish I saw more of the tasting, but from what I’ve gathered, the range of products is phenomenal. Did we miss the portion of seeing how it’s made and barrelled?”

“Nope,” Raven chimed, “if Clarke wasn’t too busy to check her phone earlier, you guys would have known that Bekka asked to switch around the tasting and the tour. We’re headed that way now. It should take about an hour and a half, then we’ll have some down time to check emails, and then there will be a welcome reception of some sort, followed by a fairly early dinner. Clarke over here planned an early night for us so we can catch up on our lack of sleep and be prepped for the full day workshops tomorrow and the day after.”

Clarke scoffed, earning a chuckle from Lexa. The brunette looked to Raven, “That all sounds great. Thanks for the update, Raven.”

The four girls sat and recounted their experiences from the bike ride, which mainly consisted of Octavia gushing about Lincoln. Lexa couldn’t help but smile at the display, knowing quite well the man must have been sharing similar feelings. Looking back to a few months ago, the brunette would have never expected to already be so close to a group of newcomers from the merger. Having formed a new circle of friendship, something she had rarely done at work, she was actually quite glad it happened.

She may not have realized it, but she had a pleasant smile spread across her face. The girl looked up and her eyes were met with Clarke’s, who was wearing a similar expression.

\---

“I’m exhausted,” Lexa yawned with her arms stretching out, full span.

Clarke smiled, the group were now at the tail end of the tour, learning about the barrelling process for each variant of wine, “Well, you did stay up past your bedtime, Commander.”

“Are you ever not going to call me that, Clarke? It’s embarrassing,” Lexa sighed.

“You brought it upon yourself,” Clarke smirked, “And if memory serves me correct, wasn’t it you that said people could only call you that if they’ve experienced the wrath? I just feel like I’ve had my fair share, so it has to be warranted.”

Lexa opened her mouth to defend herself, but Clarke started again before she could, “I’d say me calling you that is fair, Lex. Wouldn’t you?”

The brunette smirked at the nickname, “Where did ‘Lex’ come from?”

“I like the way it sounds when I say it,” Clarke smirked taking a sip of wine.

“Yeah,” Lexa smiled, “me too.”

“Hey, Griff,” both girls turned around at the sound of Finn’s voice.

Lexa’s expression immediately turned to one of annoyance, not caring if anyone realized. Clarke’s almost matched hers as she acknowledged him, “Yeah, Finn?”

“Can we chat quick?” he asked, extending his arm to lead the two to a quieter space.

“I’ll be right back,” the blonde smiled at Lexa, before following the man. They were standing a good distance away from everyone else, hidden behind a row of barrels, “What’s up? Everything okay with the setup for the reception and dinner?”

“Huh?” he asked, “Oh, no. I mean yeah, everything is fine. It’s not really about work.”

“Oh,” Clarke let out, “What is it?”

He smiled at the blonde, “We have a pretty early night tonight, I was just wondering if you wanted to go for a drink and catch up.”

Clarke raised a brow, “We’ve all been together for the past few days and have a few more ahead of us. How much more catching up is there to do?” She wasn’t blind. She knew what he was letting at. She had always considered him to be a friend, at least, a work-friend, but she also knew the man had some sort of crush on her, “Plus, I was actually going to try and grab some time with Lexa. We have a few things to discuss for the workshops and meetings we all have this week.”

“Oh, come on, Griff. You guys disappeared for over an hour today, what else do you guys have to talk about it?” he huffed, slicking his hand through his messy hair.

“Okay, I think this conversation is done,” Clarke said, walking away from him and back to where she was previously standing.

She headed back to where she and Lexa were chatting and noticed that Raven, Octavia, and Lincoln were all now surrounding the girl she was looking for. Raven looked up and noticed where Clarke was coming from, seeing Finn also walk away with a disgruntled look.

“What was that?” the girl asked.

Clarke shook her head with irritation, “He’s unbelievable.”

“When is he going to take the hint?” Octavia leaned in.

Lincoln furrowed his brow, “What’s going on?”

Octavia shrugged, “I’m assuming Finn asked Clarke out again.”

Lexa raised a brow and turned to face the blonde with a smirk, “He must be smitten, if that’s the case.”

“I don’t know why,” Clarke shrugged the brunette off, “He does this every once in a while and I always turn him down. I don’t know why he doesn’t let it go.”

“Isn’t that crossing some sort of line, since you guys work together?” Lincoln asked, “I mean, if it keeps happening and you keep saying no, isn’t that technically harassment?”

“I guess so,” Clarke answered, “but he’s a hopeless, helpless, harmless puppy dog. He’ll huff and puff for an hour, have a few more drinks, and then act like it never happened.”

“Seems annoying for you, though,” Lexa added.

Clarke shrugged, “There aren’t many things I can’t handle, Lexa.”

“I don’t doubt that,” Lexa smirked at the blonde.

Lincoln leaned down towards Octavia and whispered in her ear, “Is it me or do they seem a little flirty?”

The short brunette patted him on the shoulder, “Oh, Lincoln. I think that’s the theme of this trip.”

\---

Lexa felt a playful slap hit her stomach, causing the brunette to stumble forward, “Oomph. Clarke, what the fuck?”

“Stop yawning, it’s still early,” the blonde laughed, retreating her hand to pick up the glass of wine she was drinking, “And what the hell. Do you have abs?”

“What?” Lexa asked, yawning once again.

Clarke gave the brunette a mischievous grin, “I don’t know. I just hit your stomach and it was rock hard. I wasn’t sure I was expecting that.”

Lexa rolled her eyes, “I work out sometimes.”

“Right,” Clarke nodded, images of what Lexa looked like without her shirt on started suddenly flooding through her mind. She shook her head to shake the thoughts away and took another sip of her drink, hoping it would help. To be honest, it did quite the opposite.

The brunette stood up a little straighter, fighting back another yawn that was ready to escape her mouth, “Clarke, I think I might head-”

“No, don’t go yet,” Clarke interrupted her.

“Why?” Lexa whined, “I’m so tired.”

The blonde bit her bottom lip and looked down, “I don’t know. I… I just want you to stay.”

“I think the wine has gotten to someone’s head a bit,” Lexa joked, shuffling her feet, not really knowing what to do next, “But if you insist, I’ll try to hold out a little bit longer. I do want to get some work done before the meetings we have this week, though.”

Clarke lifted her head, a grin plastered across her face at Lexa’s answer, “I get that this is a work trip, but why don’t you live a little?”

“Wouldn’t you say that’s what we did last night?” Lexa asked with a raised brow, earning an eye roll from the blonde.

Before Clarke could say anything back, the pair heard the sound of crashing glass coming from behind them. They both whipped their heads around so fast that they nearly got whiplash, when they realized what had happened.

“Hey, watch where you’re fucking going,” Finn slurred at the server who’s tray had been knocked over. All the other man did was roll his eyes, likely because this wasn’t the first time he had seen an outburst like this.

Raven approached him, settling her hand on his shoulder, “Finn, calm down. Put the glass down, you’ve had too much. You bumped into him.”

“Like hell I did,” he spat back, jerking his shoulder out from under her hold.

The girl shook her head, “You better clean your act up, this isn’t the group of people you should be embarrassing yourself in front of.”

“Oh, and why’s that? Because the high and mighty Lexa Woods is here?” he mocked, “What’s the Commander going to do? Yell at me for having a good time?”

From a distance, Clarke and Lexa heard the conversation that was being had across the room. Clarke saw Lexa taking a step forward, likely to help Raven put the man in his place, but the blonde wasn’t ready for the situation to be heightened anymore than it already was. Titus and Jaha had stepped out of the room to have a brief discussion and all she wanted was for everything to be calmed down by the time they entered back.

“Lexa, no,” Clarke said, grabbing hold of her arm to stop her from going any further, “let me. He’ll listen to me.”

Lexa softened her face, glancing at Clarke’s, “Is it really the best idea for you to go over there after the conversation you had earlier? He’s being so aggressive already, I don’t want him lashing out at you.”

As aggravated as she was in that moment, Clarke smiled at the thought of the person standing at her side seeming to be protective of her, “I can handle it, don’t worry. He’s an idiot and he’s drank too much. I’m telling him to go back to the hotel.”

Lexa nodded, “Okay, well I’ll wait with Raven, then.”

The two made their way to where Raven and Finn had started arguing when Clarke grabbed the man’s arm, “Finn, can we talk?”

His face immediately softened, causing a grimace on Lexa’s face, one that was most certainly seen by Raven. The man just nodded as he let Clarke drag him around the corner.

“I’m not sure how he’s still employed here,” Lexa remarked.

Raven shrugged, “I don’t know. He’s good at his job. He wasn’t always such a dick, either. Maybe he’s just jealous that he’s not getting all of Griff’s undivided attention these days.”

Lexa looked to the girl, “Clarke told me nothing’s ever happened between them.”

“Relax, Lexa,” Raven smirked, “Nothing ever did. What I meant was that there was never really a badass brunette around that got all of Clarke’s attention. He’s just pining and jealous and drunk. She’ll set him straight, she always does.”

Lexa nodded, then turned her head slowly to try and hear the conversation that was happening between the two, “Did you hear that? Did she just say ‘stop?’”

“What?” Raven asked, realizing Lexa was already running towards the direction Clarke was in.

When she rounded the corner, all hell broke loose inside her head. Finn had Clarke pushed against a wall, his mouth buried in the nape of the blonde’s neck.

“Finn, stop it! Get off of me!” Clarke exclaimed, her voice growing louder with each word.

The man brought his hand to her chest, grabbing and rubbing, as he continued to kiss her neck, “Come on, you know you want this. I know you want me.”

“Get the fuck off of her,” Lexa screamed, sprinting closer towards them. Before she knew it, she had her hand around the man’s neck, yanking him off the blonde and hurling him towards the ground, “I will fucking kill you, you piece of shit. Don’t you ever-”

“Lexa!” Titus grabbed her shoulder, “I saw the tail end of what happened. Let go of him, I’ll make sure this is taken care of. We have a strict zero tolerance policy, you know that. But that policy goes towards any kind of assault, and you know that too. I can’t protect you if you do something you might end up regretting later.”

Lexa looked up to her boss, “I don’t fucking care, he deserves to get the shit beaten out of him.”

“Lex,” Clarke interjected, “just let him go, please. I want to leave. Can we please just go?”

The brunette looked between Clarke and Titus, finally releasing her grasp on the man on the ground, “You are a certified piece of shit. You are the scum of the Earth and don’t deserve to breathe. If I have any say in this, and trust me, I do, you will never in your life see her face ever again. Do you understand?”

Gasping for air after Lexa released him, he nodded into the concrete.

“Clarke, are you okay?” Titus asked, “We can call the police if you’d like to press charges.”

The blonde shook her head, “I just want to go. I can’t think about that right now.”

“Clarke,” Titus offered, “I know this has to be difficult for you, but if you want to press charges, it may be best if you do it now.”

Before the blonde could say anything, Lexa put her hand out at their boss, “I’m taking her back to the hotel. You deal with him. Leave us.”

\---

The pair walked into the hotel lobby, barely any words were spoken in the car ride back.

Clarke turned to Lexa, “Can we go to your room? It’s just… he knows what room I’m in. I just don’t want-”

“Of course, Clarke,” Lexa answered, “let’s go.”

The elevator ride seemed to have taken forever. The tension from the night prior was exchanged for stale silence, Lexa not knowing how to handle the situation, and Clarke not wanting to have to talk about anything. When they reached her floor, Lexa led Clarke down the corridor to her room. She opened the door for her, letting the blonde step in first, “Why don’t I run a hot shower for you. I have some clean clothes you can sleep in. I can open the pull out couch in the living room for myself and you can take the bedroom, okay?”

Clarke just nodded as she walked towards the bedroom to take a seat on the bed, “I can’t even begin to explain how I feel right now.”

Lexa had emerged from the bathroom which was already filling with steam from the hot shower that was running, “You don’t have to explain anything right now, Clarke. But whenever you’re ready, I’ll be here to listen, okay? If you want me too.”

The blonde nodded, “Yeah, thanks. I’m just going to…” she pointed to the bathroom, then made her way in and closed the door.

Lexa pulled out her phone to find several text message notifications and a new group chat formed.

_RR: Lexa, is she okay?_  
_OB: Where did you guys go?_  
_RR: Just let us know if we can do anything. We cancelled the dinner, everyone is headed back to the hotel. We can bring her food if she’s hungry._

Lexa sighed as she typed out a reply to the two.

_LW: How do you guys think she is? She was just sexually assaulted by a colleague she had considered to be a friend. She’s not okay, but she’s safe. Will text you if something comes up, but she just wants to be alone._

She put the phone back in her bag, not wanting to be bothered with it anymore. She opened looked to the closet to take out her luggage, sifting through her clothes to find the blonde some sweatpants and a t-shirt. Once she placed them on the bed, she made her way to the living room, finding linens and extra pillows in the closet so she could make her bed.

After moving the furniture around to make room for the pull out bed, she had started to make the bed. Half the sheet was on when she heard a noise behind her.

“Hey,” Clarke said, her voice was softer than it had ever been.

Lexa stood up, abandoning her task at hand, “Hey. How was the shower?”

“Relaxing,” Clarke sighed, “thanks for the clothes, they’re comfy.”

The brunette smiled, “I have particularly high standards for loungewear. Are you hungry? I can call room service if you want.”

She shook her head, “I’m okay, thanks. I think I just want to sleep, if that’s okay.”

Lexa nodded, “Of course, Clarke. I put water on the nightstand. The remote is there, too, if you want to put something on. I’ll be right out here if you need anything, okay?”

“Actually,” the blonde shifted her feet, “can you sit with me until I fall asleep? You don’t have to if you don’t want, I know you’re tired-”

“Of course,” Lexa interrupted her, already walking towards the room.

Saying that the bed in the room was massive would be an understatement. It seemed to be bigger than a California King, but Lexa knew that the last thing she wanted to do was invade the blonde’s space. She pulled an armchair from the corner of the bedroom close to the side of the bed Clarke was laying in, tucking her legs under herself and leaning on the arm, “I’ll be right here, okay?”

“Thank you. Thank you for everything,” Clarke sighed as she burrowed under the covers.

Lexa watched as the blonde drifted off to sleep, closely following suit.

\---

“She’s not in her room,” Octavia let out, “I have her extra key. I just went in to check on her and she wasn’t in there. It doesn’t look like anyone’s been in there since this morning. She hasn’t answered any texts and Lexa’s text didn’t really give any level of detail.”

“Hey,” Lincoln answered, putting his hands on the brunette’s shoulders, “Lexa wouldn’t let anything bad happen, okay? You saw what Finn looked like when she was done with him? I’m sure they’re off somewhere having dinner and just haven’t looked at their phones.”

“Have you tried calling her?” Raven asked the man.

He looked to his phone, checking to see if he had any new messages, “Twice. Texted a few times, too, but nothing.”

Octavia sighed, clearly worried about her friend’s whereabouts.

“Okay,” Lincoln offered, “I have an extra key to Lexa’s room, let’s go see if she’s in there and knows where Clarke went.”

When the three found their way to Lexa’s door, Lincoln inserted the key to gain access. The first thing they saw was a half made bed in the living room. They all turned to each other, slightly confused, until Lincoln peered to the bedroom. He lifted his finger to his mouth, letting the two know not to be too loud, when they all looked over and saw Clarke nestled asleep in the bed and Lexa curled up into a ball, asleep in a chair right next to the blonde.

“Let’s leave them be,” Lincoln whispered, “she’ll text you guys when she’s ready.”

The girls nodded as they made their way to leave the room, glad that at least Clarke was letting someone take care of her.


	10. I Wouldn’t Say That I Didn’t Mind It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I feel like it's been absolute ages since I've updated this. Thanks for your patience, everyone. I hope you enjoy this next little bit—it's a tinge shorter than usual, but it's leading to the next part of the story that I'm really excited to get into.
> 
> As always, thank you for reading this and all the comments and kudos you guys leave. Always happy to hear what you guys think. :)
> 
> ALSO, this hasn't been proofread, so apologize for any typos!
> 
> Enjoy. <3

Lexa looked towards the corner of her laptop screen: 1:42 AM. She didn’t mean to fall asleep in the armchair in the bedroom. She fully intended to wait for Clarke to do so before she could come back into the living room of the suite to get some work done. She sighed, knowing that she probably wouldn’t be tired for at least another hour or so because of the rest she had already gotten. She stretched her arms, sore from the position she had fallen asleep in, before returning her hands to the now overheating keyboard.

“You wear glasses?”

Lexa jumped at the sound of the raspy voice, “Sorry, did I wake you?”

Clarke shook her head as she leaned on the doorframe to the room, “No, not at all. When my body gets that much sleep, it’s like an internal alarm clock just wakes me up.”

The brunette nodded, “Same for me.”

Clarke offered a soft smile as she made her way to where Lexa was sitting, “Thank you again for earlier.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Clarke,” Lexa said, turning to face the blonde, “I did what anyone would have done.”

Clarke raised a brow, “Grab him by the throat and smashing his head against the pavement?”

Lexa shrugged as a smirk appeared on her face, “It was just instinct.”

Clarke leaned forward in her seat, taking Lexa’s appearance in. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, she was in old sweatpants and a t-shirt, and her glasses were slowly falling down the bridge of her nose. The blonde had come to the realization that it was the most beautiful version of Lexa that she had ever seen.

“You didn’t answer my question,” the blonde said softly.

Lexa crinkled her nose, both trying to remember the question, as well as keep her glasses in place.

Clarke smiled, raising a finger to push the brunette’s glasses back in place, “You wear glasses?”

Lexa felt her cheeks starting to burn at the gesture, “Ah, right. That question. I do.”

“How come I’ve never seen you in them? Do you normally wear contacts?” Clarke asked, leaning into the back of the couch.

Lexa shook her head, “No, no contacts. The thought of touching my eye irks me. I should be wearing these all the time, actually. I just hate the way they look, so I don’t.”

Clarke bit her bottom lip as she intently stared at Lexa’s face, even though she had already come to the conclusion that the girl next to her looked absolutely perfect, “I think they’re working very well for you.”

Lexa picked up on the flirtation that was coming her way. Thinking back to earlier on in the day, out in the vineyard, she knew that her flirtation would be welcomed back, but she was also still wary of what had happened with Finn earlier and wanted to tread as lightly as possible.

The brunette smiled and looked towards the counter in the kitchen, “I wasn’t sure when you’d wake up or if you’d be hungry, but I ordered a few things from room service. Food should still be fairly warm.”

Clarke nodded, understanding why her compliment was brushed off, “Yeah, I could eat. Thank you.”

The blonde stood up and made her way to the counter. Her eyes nearly bulged out of her head when she saw the amount of silver platters resting on the countertops, “A few things, Lexa? This looks like the whole menu.”

Lexa shrugged, “I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood for.”

“You’re setting the bar high, Commander,” Clarke responded, as she popped a french fry in her mouth.

Lexa furrowed her brow, “What do you mean?”

Clarke smirked as she opened the next platter, “Food’s the way to my heart.”

\---

“I’m sickeningly full,” Clarke groaned as she fell back into her seat next to Lexa, the brunette was still adamantly working away on her laptop, “Did you eat anything?”

Lexa laughed at the blonde’s state, “Yeah, I picked on a few things when they brought it all up.” She shifted in her seat, her demeanor shifted as well, “Can we talk about something?”

“Sure,” Clarke replied, apprehensively.

“I woke up to a few missed calls and some texts from Titus. I know we have a few days of meetings and workshops here, but he asked me what my thoughts would be if he told you that you could go to the Texas event a few days early instead,” Lexa let out.

Clarke slowly nodded, “You and I were supposed to present something at the meeting here, though.”

Lexa pointed to her laptop, “That’s what I’ve been working on tonight. If you did leave early, Raven or Octavia could just do it, but I’d want to send them the materials sooner rather than later so they could be acquainted with it.”

“Does he not want me to be here?” Clarke asked. Her mind started racing at the thought of it, “Does he think that I can’t do it? Do you think I can’t do it?”

Lexa immediately shook her head and placed her hand on the blonde’s leg, “God, Clarke, not at all. It’s not like that. It’s a matter of you wanting to be here or not. He wanted to check in and see if you were still up for the rest of the trip, and I just want to make sure you’re okay. He said he was going to reach out to you to talk about it, I’m sure he’s already texted you.”

“I mean,” Clarke started, “it would be nice to take a day or two. I just don’t want it to seem like I’m running away from work.”

“No one would ever think that, Clarke,” Lexa said, as her eyes met the blonde’s, “If you think you need it, then do it.”

Clarke nodded as she stood up, “I should probably grab my phone.”

“Maybe,” Lexa agreed, as her eyes drifted back to her computer screen, readying herself to clean up the presentation she had been building. She wasn’t sure if it was the hour of the night or the amount of time she had spent staring at her screen, but her eyelids suddenly started feeling heavy.

“Jeez,” she heard the blonde say from the other room, her footsteps working back towards her, “over a hundred texts, this is going to be annoying.”

“You don’t owe anything to anyone, just let Titus know what you decide and leave it at that,” Lexa offered, followed by a yawn.

Clarke hummed, “I guess you’re right. Sleepy again?”

“I think my eyes are just tired from staring at this damn presentation,” Lexa answered, removing the thick-rimmed glasses from her face, then rubbing her eyes.

Clarke took a seat back down, this time much closer to the brunette. She rested her chin on Lexa’s shoulders, “I think I’m going to leave for Texas today.”

Lexa took the blonde’s offerance of touch and leaned her head against Clarke’s, “I think that’s a good idea, Clarke. Take a day or two off before you have to do anything down there, eat some barbeque. Hell, even go to a rodeo.”

The blonde laughed at the thought. She gently removed her chin from Lexa’s leaning support, “Would you want to come with me?”

“What?” Lexa asked, surprised at the question.

Clarke shrugged, “If Raven and O can cover for me, Lincoln can cover for you. You’ve never seen any of my team’s events yet, might be good for you to do so.”

“Clarke,” Lexa started, “it’s Austin City Limits. The hotels are probably all booked, and if they’re not already, the prices are going to be insane.”

“I already have a room settled, you can crash with me.”

Lexa raised a brow.

“Easy, tiger. It’ll be a suite like this with a pullout couch. I’m not propositioning you,” the blonde joked.

Lexa’s cheeks flushed to a shade of pink, “Right.”

Clarke assumed her position, chin back on Lexa’s shoulder, “I’d feel better if you came with me.”

“Right,” Lexa repeated herself, “looks like we’re getting some barbeque and heading to a rodeo, then.”

\---

“Clarke,” Lexa groaned from her position on the couch. The pair had fallen asleep during their conversation—Lexa was stretched out across the length of the couch, with Clarke curled up into a ball, her head resting on the brunette’s stomach.

Clarke didn’t wake up. The blonde shifted at the sound of her name, but only moved her hand to the hem of Lexa’s shirt.

Lexa’s eyes went wide at the contact. She tried again, “Clarke, wake up.”

“Hmm?” Clarke let out, before finally coming to. “Oh, shit. Sorry,” she quickly apologized as she sat up. “That couldn’t have been comfortable for you.”

Lexa rubbed her eyes and stretched, “I wouldn’t say that I didn’t mind it.”

Clarke laughed at her comment before jokingly throwing a throw pillow at her, “Not how I imagined our first night.”

“Oh?” Lexa raised a brow, “What were you hoping for-”

_Knock, knock, knock._

Lexa immediately sat up at the sound of someone at her door. She looked at her phone and saw that it was just after 6—for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out who would be on the other side at this ungodly hour.

Clarke looked at Lexa, signaling the other to do something.

_Knock, knock, knock._

Lexa rolled her eyes as she made her way to the door, “Jesus, I’m coming.”

She opened it slightly, just enough for the person on the other side to be able to reveal themselves, “This better be important.”

“Wow,” Lincoln smiled, “Good morning to you too, Commander.”

Lexa arched a brow at the man at her door, “Was there something I could help you with at 6am?”

“O and Raven packed Clarke’s room up for her last night, just dropping her bags in here. Titus emailed us saying we were covering the rest of the trip since you’re both leaving,” Lincoln winked.

The brunette finally opened the door fully, allowing him entrance. Clarke had managed to sneak into the bathroom to ready herself for the day, likely so Lexa and Lincoln could chat in private, something Lexa was thankful for.

“So,” he started, “Texas, huh?”

Lexa shrugged as she picked at a now cold platter of french fries, “I’ve never been to one of their consumer-facing events, so figured it would be cool. Plus, Clarke probably doesn’t want to be alone anyway.”

He nodded, “So you offered to go with her?”

She shoved a fry in her mouth and looked away, “Not exactly.”

“Anya’s going to get a kick out of this,” he laughed.

The brunette immediately turned to face him, “Don’t, Linc. Clarke just went through a lot, can we not make a big thing about anything, please? I’m just trying to be supportive.”

Lincoln held his hands in the air, “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry,” he shifted his feet, “O sent me the presentation you worked on and let me know which slides I had to cover. Thanks for building that out.”

“Yeah,” Lexa ran her hand over her head, “sorry I didn’t give you a heads up, it was kind of a late-night decision.”

He nodded, “It’s okay. You’re doing the right thing, Lexa—just being there for her.”

“Yeah, just want her to feel alright,” she shrugged.

The sound of the bathroom door opening brought both of their attention to the blonde—in just a few minutes’ time, Clarke pulled herself together for yet another flight.

Lexa squinted her eyes as she looked at Clarke, “Is that my-”

“Shirt?” Clarke interrupted, “Yeah, it is. I didn’t have any clean clothes with me, so I went through your bag.”

Lincoln laughed as he looked in Lexa’s direction, “Have fun in Texas, Commander. Hope you have enough clothes.”

Clarke waved off the man’s comment, “Lex, did you get on the same flight as me?”

The brunette held up her phone, “Yup, travel agent just confirmed. We should head out soon, and now that you’re wearing my plane outfit, I need to find something else to wear.”

Clarke smirked, “Whatever you decide, make sure you put those glasses back on.”

“Lexa wearing glasses in public is a very rare sighting, Clarke. I wouldn’t get your hopes up on that,” Lincoln joked.

The blonde shrugged, “Not for long.”

“Alright, can we just go?” Lexa asked, throwing the last of her things into her luggage, “I’m going to call a car.”

“I’ll leave you two to it,” Lincoln smiled, before hugging the blonde goodbye, “Commander,” he directed his attention back to Lexa, “I’ll shoot you a text when we’re done with the presentation to let you know how it goes. You guys enjoy some barbecue for me, alright?”

“You got it,” Lexa smiled, “Thanks again, Linc.”

After he exited, Lexa turned to Clarke, “What am I supposed to wear now?”

“Honestly? I’m fine with just your glasses,” a smirk was tugged onto the blonde’s face.

Lexa couldn’t help but laugh, “Isn’t it a little early in the day for the flirting?”

“Nope,” Clarke bit her bottom lip, “never too early.”


	11. So Beautiful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa accompanies Clarke to Austin for a few days off and a "work thing."
> 
> \---
> 
> Okay, it's been three months, but here's the next part. Thank you guys for your patience with this! There is some good news, though. I have the next chapter already written, so it won't be too far behind this update.
> 
> As always, major thanks to everyone that's reading this, commenting, giving kudos, and subscribing. I really hope you enjoy this part of the story! I must add that this was hardly proofread, so apologies in advance for any errors!
> 
> Make sure to follow me on Tumblr (https://cantgetoutofmyheda.tumblr.com/) for previews and updates to my posting cadence. Shoot me questions here or there re: this fic. Happy to answer anything. :)

Austin, Texas was everything Lexa thought it would be—everything was bigger, that’s for sure. The cars, the shops, the serving size of food and drinks, and _oh God_ , the hangovers. Unfortunately, or fortunately—she wasn’t sure yet—the pair didn’t account arriving to the state a day early, a day before Clarke’s hotel reservation was made for.

Instead of the suite the blonde had promised, the two found themselves in a room with one king bed. The concierge saw the look on both women’s faces when he let them know what was available and offered to book two separate king rooms or add a rollaway bed, but Clarke said it was fine—made a joke about making a wall of pillows, and told him they’d be needing two keys.

The first two days there were filled with food. And drinks. Lots of both, to be honest. Clarke, ever the planner, had lists of each restaurant, bar, and shop she wanted to visit. To Lexa, it felt like the blonde had a never ending supply of energy, pulling her from one place to another, no time for a break, or God forbid, a nap. But despite Lexa’s tired state of being, she happily obliged to be dragged around, to see everything Clarke wanted to, because she knew it’s what the woman needed, and the brunette was hell bent on making sure Clarke was okay.

Lexa stirred in bed, the brightness of the sun shining through the window paired with a foggy head from the night prior made for an awful combination. The brunette was nearly hanging off the bed—even with the amount she drank the previous night, she knew that she still had to maintain her respectful demeanor. Over the last two days, there was a ruthless amount of flirting coming from the blonde, yet she never acted on it. Lexa was still wary, wanted to still give Clarke space and let her move at her own pace after the incident in Napa, so she grinned and beared it.

She turned over to find Clarke in a nearly identical position, an arm and leg slung over the side of the bed. Her waves of blonde hair, thrown into a messy ponytail, sprawling across her pillow.

“Clarke,” Lexa whispered, her voice raspier than usual—the result of the last two days, “We need to head to the festival soon.”

The blonde didn’t stir.

“Ugh,” Lexa groaned to herself, “Clarke, c’mon.”

It was no use. If Lexa learned anything about Clarke after sharing a room with her the previous night, it was that the blonde was absolutely dead to the world in the morning. As hard as it was for Lexa to keep up with her during the day, it was equally as hard to get the woman to peel herself out of bed.

Lexa rolled towards the sleeping wonder beside her, reaching her arm over to gently nudge her shoulder, “C’mon, Clarke. We have to get up.”

Without hesitation, Clarke reached to grab the brunette’s hand and yanked it towards her midsection, so that Lexa was now holding her.

Lexa froze at the contact and watched as Clarke started to snuggle back into her sleepy haze, “Clarke, what are you doing.”

“Mm,” the blonde mustered out, “you’re cozy. Five more minutes.”

Lexa’s head swirled like never before. The last two nights, she worked so hard to make sure there was enough space, a safe distance between her and the blonde. She didn’t want to blur the lines, to accidentally brush against something she shouldn’t, but here Clarke was—half asleep and crossing that line without any thought.

“Fine,” Lexa said, one arm still slung around the blonde’s waist, the other being used to prop her head up, “Five minutes, then I’m shoving you off the edge.”

Clarke, eyes still closed, let a smile creep across her face as she tightened her hold on the brunettes hand, “I’ll just bring you down with me.”

“You’re far too sweet for your own good, Griffin,” Lexa let out a soft laugh.

Clarke squeezed Lexa’s hand before letting hers go limp atop the brunette’s, “Will you please lay down? It feels like you’re hovering over me.”

Lexa was grateful that the blonde’s back was facing her. Extremely grateful, because her body’s first response was to stare at Clarke with her mouth agape. This definitely wasn’t how she thought her morning was going to go. She gave herself a nod, and slowly laid behind the blonde. The scent of warm vanilla and lavender soon took over her senses, and she finally relaxed.

“You’re too comfortable,” Clarke murmured. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving this bed today.”

“If memory serves me correct, we’re here for an activation your team put together,” Lexa laughed. She leaned in closer to the blonde’s ear and lowered her voice just enough to send a chill down Clarke’s spine, “Time to get up, Clarke.”

Clarke sighed, releasing her hold on Lexa’s hand, “You don’t let me have any fun.”

Lexa couldn’t help but scoff at the statement as she sat up, “I don’t let you have any fun? Clarke, we stayed out until 2am last night because you refused to leave the bar before your turn on the mechanical bull. I let you have loads of fun on this trip.”

The blonde hopped out of bed quicker than Lexa thought was possible, “Yeah, you’re right.” She walked over to her luggage and grabbed a few things before walking towards the bathroom.

“You’re not seriously cutting in front of me to take a shower, are you?” Lexa raised a brow, watching Clarke’s movements.

Clarke made her way into the bathroom, but turned to face Lexa, “Are we in the third grade? And yes, I’m going to take a shower now. You’ve been up and had the chance, but decided to stay in bed instead.” She shot the brunette a wink before blowing a kiss and closing the door.

“Unbelievable,” Lexa muttered to herself while reaching for her phone to type a message to Anya.

_LW: Hi_

Lexa heard the water in the shower start to run before deciding to turn the TV on to drown out the noise. After flipping through a few channels, her phone went off.

_AW: A woman of many words_   
_LW: Shut up_   
_AW: Hello to you, too. Everything okay?_   
_LW: Yeah, I guess_   
_AW: Are you going to stop being emo and tell me whatever it is that’s going on, or am I going to have to find out from Raven?_   
_LW: Low blow._   
_AW: Spill it or I’m going to stop answering_

Lexa toyed with the remote, flicking through more channels before finally landing on the Food Network. The grumble in her stomach at the sight of the fresh baked goods from whatever baking challenge was on the screen reminded her about how hungry she was. She looked back towards her phone, dreading answering Anya’s latest text.

_LW: I just don’t know what to do, I’m trying to have boundaries here because of what happened with that douche, but she’s giving me so many signals but not acting on them_   
_AW: Maybe she wants you to make the move, bud_   
_LW: Kind of wary about that after everything that’s happened_   
_AW: Why don’t you talk to her about it?_   
_LW: Well that’s a terrifying thought_

Before Anya answered, Lexa heard the water stop running in the shower. She quickly typed up a message, telling her cousin that she had to go, and cast her phone to the side before gathering what she needed for the shower.

Placing her things neatly on the bed, she heard the bathroom door creek open, a cloud of steam emerged followed by Clarke who was wrapped in an incredibly small towel.

“Figured I’d get ready out here so you could hop in since we have to leave soon,” Clarke smiled.

Lexa grabbed her things and started towards the bathroom, doing her best to keep her eyes away from the blonde, in fear that if she looked, she wouldn’t be able to look away, “Yeah, sounds good. Thanks, Clarke.”

“Have a good shower, tiger,” Clarke winked as they past, making sure to brush shoulders with the blonde.

\---

Lexa took a sip of her drink, freshly made from the robot built to perfection from Raven’s blueprints. She nudged Clarke’s shoulder with her own, “Your team did an amazing job. The pop up bar looks phenomenal, and I can’t believe so many people are waiting on line to get served an overpriced drink from a piece of AI.”

“Thanks, Commander,” Clarke smiled, taking a sip of her own cocktail.

Lexa’s ears perked up at the name, Clarke hadn’t called her that in the few days they had just spent together, “Commander? We’re back on that now?”

“We’re at work now,” Clarke shrugged before quickly turning her head as if something caught her ear, “Oh my God, Lexa. What time is it?”

“Well, princess,” Lexa quipped her work nickname for the blonde, “6:35, why?”

“Shit, we’re late,” Clarke replied, reaching for Lexa’s arm and tugging her towards one of the stages.

Following the blonde’s lead, because that’s what Lexa seemed to have been doing all week anyway, Lexa asked, “Late to what? I thought we just had the activation during the day and were done at six?”

“We are done,” Clarke turned back to face Lexa, but didn’t stop walking at her brisk pace. “I really just wanted to see this one set before we left and we’ve already missed more than half of it. Come on,” Clarke tugged her a bit more, “she’s on that stage right over there.”

It was packed. Absolutely packed. The pair tried to navigate their way through the crowds of people sitting and standing, and once Clarke decided it was too full, they situated on the ground, sharing Lexa’s zip up as a makeshift blanket.

“She must be taking a quick break between songs,” Clarke observed. There was still 20 minutes of the set left, and the crowd was way too big for it to have already ended.

Lexa heard the front of the crowd start to cheer and let her eyes wander to the stage, “Who is this child with neon green hair? And why is her hair the same color as her nails? And why are her nails like, three inches long?”

The speakers started booming the beginning melody of one of Clarke’s favorite songs, “Shut up, not now.”

_I've been watching you_   
_For some time_   
_Can't stop staring_   
_At those oceans eyes_   
_Burning cities_   
_And napalm skies_   
_Fifteen flares inside those ocean eyes_   
_Your ocean eyes_

Lexa’s eyed widened at the young girl’s voice paired with some of the most beautiful lyrics she had ever heard at a concert, “Holy shit.”

“Exactly. Now shut up,” Clake said, matter-of-factly, her attention still directed towards the stage.

_No fair_   
_You really know how to make me cry_   
_When you gimme those ocean eyes_   
_I'm scared_   
_I've never fallen from quite this high_   
_Falling into your ocean eyes_   
_Those ocean eyes_

Lexa turned to face Clarke—the blonde was still staring at the stage in awe, the curve of her lips mouthing every word that the singer was effortlessly singing. The brunette knew that the woman sitting next to her has taken her through a swirl of emotions over the past few days, but seeing her like this—seeing her so content, especially after everything that happened—it put the biggest smile on Lexa’s face.

_No fair_   
_You really know how to make me cry_   
_When you gimme those ocean eyes_   
_I'm scared_   
_I've never fallen from quite this high_   
_Falling into your ocean eyes_   
_Those ocean eyes_

Lexa finally let herself fall into the music. The lilting pattern of the harmonies and melodies felt like they were pulsing through her bones, settling her into an unconscious sway.

_I've been walking through_   
_A world gone blind_   
_Can't stop thinking of your diamond mind_   
_Careful creature_   
_Made friends with time_   
_He left her lonely with a diamond mind_   
_And those ocean eyes_

Clarke looked over at Lexa, the brunette was more than content with where she was—the smile on her face and soft movements of her body were proof of that.

_No fair_   
_You really know how to make me cry_   
_When you gimme those ocean eyes_   
_I'm scared_   
_I've never fallen from quite this high_   
_Falling into your ocean eyes_   
_Those ocean eyes_

Lexa found herself humming along to the song. It had undoubtedly been the first time she had heard it, but the music was already burned into her head. She took a keen awareness to the words and couldn’t help but think of Clarke and her eyes, eyes as blue as the depths of all the seven seas combined.

“So beautiful,” Clarke turned to face Lexa, but the brunette was still facing the stage. She smiled to herself before landing her eyes over the expanse of the crowd. The once-rowdy group had all calmed, all started swaying and softly singing along, giving the illusion of a divine choir.

Lexa crooked her head ever so slightly, just enough to get Clarke in her peripheral, “Very much so.”

_No fair_   
_You really know how to make me cry_   
_When you gimme those ocean eyes_   
_I'm scared_   
_I've never fallen from quite this high_   
_Falling into your ocean eyes_   
_Those ocean eyes_

The music started to fade, signaling the near-end to the song. As the beat started to pick up, progressing to whatever was next on her setlist, Clarke stood up and held a hand out to her companion for the trip, “Come on.”

Lexa grabbed her hand and brought herself to her feed, confused at where the blonde wanted to go. Just moments before, she was so set on seeing whoever this performer was, and now was so willing to leave, “I thought you wanted to see her?”

“Well, I did,” Clarke blushed. “I wanted to see her set so I could see that song. It’s been on my mind for a while now, and I just wanted to hear it live.”

“Okay,” Lexa nodded. “Any other sets you want to check out?”

Clarke shrugged as the two started walking, “If you didn’t have any, I’m actually good to go. Figured we could pack up a little and have a quiet movie night?”

“Yeah?” Lexa asked. “That actually sounds right up my alley.”

“I know,” Clarke smirked, “it’s the least I could offer after everything you’ve done for me.”

Lexa shook her head, “I haven’t done anything, Clarke.”

“Lex,” she ran her hand their her golden waves, “you beat someone up that tried something with me, you took off work to come here with me, and you let me drag you around Austin for the past seventy-two hours. You’ve done more than you know, or care to admit.”

Lexa nodded at the blonde, “Let’s go have a hotel party, then.”

\---

Packing their bags was surprisingly the easy part of the evening. Likely because the pair truly unpacked their suitcases, and just lived out of the large bags. There were, however, two issues at hand: finding the right movies to watch and figuring out what food to order.

“Unbelievable,” Lexa laughed as she closed the room door. “I can’t believe they just bring an Apple TV when you ask for one.”

Clarke raised a brow, “I can’t believe it wasn’t already in the room and installed. Do you know how to work this thing?”

“You just plug it into the power socket and then into the back of the TV,” Lexa did as she described. “See? Easy.”

“Nerd,” Clarke’s face was hidden behind the room service menu, but Lexa caught the teasing wiggle of her eyebrows.

Lexa sat down on the bed with the remote in her hand, flicking through all the movie options, “What genre are you in the mood for?”

“Whatever you want,” Clarke called out. “What are you in the mood to eat?”

It took every ounce of Lexa’s being not to smirk, not to raise her brow, and not to make a joke (that wouldn’t be that much of a joke) at the blonde’s question, “Whatever you want. Are you fine with a thriller or something suspenseful?”

“As long as you’re fine with me ordering whatever I want for the two of us,” the blonde said, eyes still scanning the menu.

Lexa nodded, “This is oddly domestic, isn’t it?”

“I don’t hate it.”

Freshly showered, clad in pajamas and hotel robes, the two were sitting upright in bed surrounded by a half eaten feast. Clarke definitely did order whatever she wanted for the two of them: a leafy salad (for good measure), a plate of way too many mozzarella sticks, a few chicken tenders (again, for good measure), two types of pasta dishes, and a bottle of the hotel’s finest Cab.

Lexa finally gave up, tossing her fork into the bowl of rigatoni and mushrooms, “I think I have a food baby. Take this all away before I get sick, Griffin.”

The blonde looked at her, mouth full of penne vodka, “Lexa, shut up. You couldn’t have a food baby if you tried.” She put her own fork down and sighed, “but me on the other hand…”

Lexa took one look at Clarke, the song from earlier had been playing in the back of her mind every time her eyes landed on the woman. Hey eyes of adoration were apparent, but she didn’t care if Clarke noticed, only this one time, “You’re beautiful.”


End file.
